At St. Gabriel’s we recognise the important role that each child has as a valued citizen within our multi-cultural British society and also as a Global citizen, both now and in their future lives. Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so that they can grow into secure, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world. Our school values, whilst being rooted in our Catholic tradition, underpin our educational ethos in regard to this. They are rooted in respect, understanding, tolerance and dignity of the human person and in doing so, transcend articles of faith. They play an important part in our weekly assemblies and our lived daily throughout our school. 

Promoting British Values at St Gabriel’s RC Primary School

The Greek roots of the term "Catholic" mean "according to (kata-) the whole (holos)", or more colloquially, "univeral". At our school we must, there, educate our children to be outward looking and aware of the world in which they live if they are to be true citizens of the future.

The DfE have recently reinforced the need

“to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

Democracy:

The promotion of democracy is extensive within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council and pupil questionnaires. Children in each class vote for the children they want to represent them on school Council and are invited to apply for a range of other roles across the school. For example when appointing new Caritas/ GIFT chaplaincy team members, children write applications which the current team shortlist before interviewing potential candidates. Children are consulted and contribute to the development of school policies, for example our behaviour policy and the school aims. The school council are also involved in appointment of new staff including leaders. 

The Rule of Law:

The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school worship times. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty:

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons. Pupils are given the freedom to make choices, for example signing up for extra-curricular clubs, choosing the level of challenge in some lessons and deciding what to present at class assemblies to parents.

Mutual Respect:

As a Catholic school, our ethos is based around core Catholic values, including respect. Our aims ‘Achieving Potential’ are firmly based on the value of respect, which permeates all aspects of school life, including our school improvement plan and behaviour policy. This is support by school worship time and class liturgy. 'Respectful' is one of the three school rules that all children keep at the school. In anti-bullying week, at an age appropriate level, children learn about the different types of bullying that may occur and how to address these. Other theme days build respect for those with particular talents and interests: authors (World Book Day), mathematicians (Maths Day), wider cultures (French Day) and scientists (Science Week). Pairs of classes from different Key Stages are linked as ‘Learning Buddies’ which helps to promote respect between children of different ages.  

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:

This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Worship times and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in Religion and PSHE. To communicate the value with which we give this learning, we devote three weeks to exploring Judaism, Islam and Hinduism with the children (supported by our RE scheme). Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. We use opportunities throughout the curriculum to learn of other countries and cultures.  An example is using the theme of The Olympics and World Cups to study other countries.