British Values
Guidance from the DfE states that schools should ‘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.’ At Discovery Academy, children are taught about these values, alongside our school values, in weekly assemblies and at an age appropriate level. Furthermore, the values are reinforced continually in the following ways:
Children are encouraged to make their own choices and are given opportunities to make decisions that help shape our school. They learn how a ‘voting’ system works and are regularly given opportunities to vote on things in class.
Children understand that they must follow the school rules and they engage in regular discussion about why this is important. They work together to create their own class rules at the beginning of the year, to ensure that everyone is in agreement. There are rewards for positive behaviour choices and consequences for negative behaviour choices in order to encourage our children to be good citizens, not just in school but also in wider society.
Our school environment provides a safe and supportive context for children to make choices and voice their views. We aim to empower our pupils and nurture their individual personalities, whilst providing boundaries to ensure that this can be done safely. In PSHE lessons, children are encouraged to express themselves effectively and respect the ideas of others.
One of our school values is ‘caring’ and children learn that this involves respecting others, using kind words and being polite. In the classroom, ‘good looking’ and ‘good listening’ is used to show respect to whoever is talking and children know that they can expect the same in return.