British Values
At Slip End Village School we promote the fundamental British values of:
- Democracy
- The Rule of Law
- Individual Liberty
- Mutual Respect
- Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
British values are fully embedded into the everyday life of our school and are enhanced through both our Curriculum and extended Curriculum. Here are some of the ways in which we do this.
Democracy
Pupils are given the opportunity to have their voices heard through the democratic election of School Councillors and their participation in pupil questionnaires.
Pupils are encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills, voice their opinions and listen and respond to the differing views of others.
The Rule of Law
For their own and others safety and protection, our pupils are taught the value and importance of following laws, regulations and codes and the reasoning behind them. At the beginning of each year, pupils are involved in creating a class Code of Conduct; our school code of conduct and behaviour system identifies rewards and consequences for actions which the whole school adheres to.
Throughout the year, assemblies celebrate and reinforce safety procedures and rules. This is in addition to our Curriculum which teaches E-Safety, Swimming rules etc. Visitors to the school such as the Fire Service also help children to understand why rules are important.
Individual Liberty
At Slip End, pupils are encouraged to make a range of choices knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Pupils make personal choices about their learning e.g. through discussing what they would like to learn at the start of new topics. They evaluate the learning of others both verbally and in written form and make contributions to the class content of Celebration assemblies. Wherever possible, our pupils are given the opportunity to become independent and resilient learners; this is further promoted through the school's SELF initiative born from our Lesson Study research, which focuses on building pupils' self-awareness, self-esteem, self-control, self-motivation, self-sufficiency and self-reflection.
Mutual Respect
Our school delivers a Values based education which centres on the core value of ‘Respect’. Pupils are given opportunities throughout the year to be involved in a range of community projects designed to develop respectful relationships with others. Relationships with our local residential home are strong with pupils visiting to plant seasonal bulbs for the residents and delivering harvest parcels. A range of charities are also supported throughout the year.
Pupils at Slip End are encouraged to help each other with their learning. In addition to paired and group working in class, our older pupils can often be seen helping our younger ones e.g. using the hand-held electronic devices to learn times tables and number bonds.
This year we have developed our international links by establishing a firm friendship with a German school in Eitorf and through an E-twinning project. International relationships have been forged and awareness and understanding of different cultures established. In addition, our strong links with Caddington Village School have meant that pupils have frequent opportunities to learn, share and form friendships with other local children.
Respect for the environment and for the belongings of others is also strongly promoted at Slip End e.g. recycling bags can be found in all classrooms. Our pupils completed surveys for the Parish Council where they discussed how the Council could help the community to improve.
Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
Through providing pupils with opportunities to discuss and experience our rich and diverse society we ensure they are tolerant and open-minded. As part of our Curriculum, pupils gain a diverse knowledge and awareness of various world faiths and religions, especially through RE and PSHCE. Pupils have opportunities to visit and explore places of worship as part of offsite visits. Visitors to school provide further opportunities to promote tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
In addition, national events such as VE Day, Remembrance Day and St. George’s Day are embraced and celebrated.