Promoting British Values at the Nottingham Academy

Purpose: 

The DfE have outlined 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.” 

At Nottingham Academy, we endeavour to ensure that all children are fully prepared for ‘Life beyond Nottingham Academy’ and life in modern Britain. In actively promoting these values, we challenge those opinions or behaviours that are contrary to fundamental British values.  We aim to reinforce the government’s values regularly, in the following ways: 

Democracy: 

We ensure that the children of Nottingham Academy have a voice and that their voice is heard and listened to. We actively encourage the children to show independence, speak up and provide the opportunity for them share their views through pupil interviews, questionnaires and classroom’ worry boxes’. Our Well-Being Council meet regularly to discuss aspects of well-being, including behaviour, transition and friendships in school. Our class Well-Being Council representatives do an excellent job of bringing issues to discuss and feedback from their peers to regular council meetings, which are led by our school ELSA lead.  We develop an environment in which children feel safe to express themselves and know that their opinion is valued.  

We also seek our parent’s opinions and always aim to open dialogue between home and school. Through meetings, assemblies, coffee mornings and questionnaires, parent are given plenty of opportunity to share their views and opinions. The launch of our Nottingham Academy Community Forum aims to allow further prosect for successful school and parent collaboration around enhancing opportunities in school, enriching community links and supporting with school events.  

The Rule of Law: 

Children are introduced to the importance of laws through school rules, whether they be rules that must be followed in the class, around school, or at playtimes. From starting Nottingham Academy in F1, children are taught right from wrong. Children learn the importance of rules/ laws and why they must be followed. Our well-planned behaviour curriculum ensures that our children know the expectations throughout the school day and are given regular opportunity to revisit these. Children at Nottingham Academy are given a vast amount of support to ensure that they make the right choices around their behaviour, and suitable interventions are provided to ensure children who find this more challenging have the right support to do so. Through all staff adhering to our clear behaviour policy, children understand that poor behaviour will have consequences that are always fair and consistently applied.  

Throughout our well sequenced history curriculum, children are also taught about the crimes and punishment of the past. In addition, woven through our PSHE programme (Jigsaw), children are explicitly taught about the importance of rules and consequences.  

Individual Liberty: 

This feeds directly into our Character Curriculum, where we encourage children to develop their self-esteem and self-confidence. We ensure that we educate and provide boundaries for children to make choices, learn, grow, make mistakes, take responsibility for their behaviour and to do so safely in a well-supported environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to do this safely, for example, through our E-Safety lessons and PSHE lessons. Children are explicitly and implicitly taught to challenge stereotypes and develop a strong anti-bullying culture in school. Whether it be through choice of learning challenges, of how they record their work, of participation in our extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect: 

Respect permeates through our school values to:  

1. Play fairly and thoughtfully 

2. Use your talents to achieve your best 

3. Listen to the views of others 

4. Respect the environment around us 

5. Respect all relationships 

6. Show resilience of body and mind 

Respect is modelled, taught and expected every day and forms a key part of our Character Curriculum. Respect is consistent and discussed regularly with the children during assemblies, PSHE lessons and encouraged through all aspects of the school day - from listening to the views of others in class to holding the doors open for others in the corridors. As a school, we ensure that all children respect one another and can value everyone as individuals. 

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs: 

At Nottingham Academy, we understand our role in preparing children to take their place in a culturally diverse society. We are lucky that our children experience a wide range of cultures and beliefs through the diverse make-up of our school. The texts we choose to drive our curriculum are carefully selected to ensure there is a diverse range of characters that reflect our society. Our Religious Education curriculum explicitly plans for children to visit and experience a range of places of worship in order to build awareness and respect for faiths and beliefs different to our own. Our PSHE lessons also allow an opportunity for explicit teaching of respect and tolerance in society. We ensure that assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying are delivered and that the key messages are then re-enforced through the curriculum.