British Values
The Government have made it a requirement to “create and enforce a clear 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 of different faiths and beliefs”.
At St Michael’s these values are reinforced regularly in the following ways:
Democracy
St Michaels’ has a school council with representatives from each class voted on by their class mates every September. Each candidate writes a manifesto which is shared with each class and then each class member votes as to which candidate they would like to represent them on the school council. The council meets every term led by our pastoral support worker and supported by our headteacher. In each meeting the council members are encouraged to listen to each person’s point of view and to vote democratically for any motion that may be introduced. The minutes of each meeting are recorded and shared with the school community at assembly. The council were recently involved in the appointment of the new Headteacher in January 2015 and the new deputy headteacher in March 2015.
In May 2015, the school took part in a mock general election with candidates from each of the main political party researching and writing their own manifestos. These were shared at a junior assembly, the headteacher enforced the importance of voting in the general election for all adults over 18 with a vote. The children then voted that afternoon using voting booths and a ballot box and the result was shared with the whole school on the same day as the General Election.
In Year 5 as part of the IPC programme the children study democracies throughout the world and the importance of living in a fair democracy for the good of society.
The Rule of Law
At St Michaels’ we live by our school rules or “Circle Values” of care, independence, resilience, church, learning and enjoyment. All children are encouraged to follow these circle values for their own well being and the well being of others. The values are openly displayed in the school and weekly certificates are presented to children individually in Friday celebration assemblies to those children who live out these values in their every day school life. Parents are invited to attend these assemblies to share in their child’s reward for good conduct. These values are also printed in the children’s learning journals in their “passport of success”. When the required amount of stickers has been awarded each child visits the headteacher to have their “passports” signed and acknowledged.
Individual liberty and Mutual Respect
St Michaels’ is a Catholic school and through our Gospel values of tolerance and respect we expect every child and every adult to treat all members of our school community with kindness and tolerance. Every Monday morning the whole school assembles in the school hall for an assembly led by the headteacher based on the Gospel values of mutual respect where every individual has the right to express themselves in an atmosphere of tolerance. We collect alms for various charities throughout the world such as Cafod etc and we also respond to individual causes such as the earthquake disaster of Nepal where the children are encouraged to think of those in our world who do not have the basic privileges that we have.
Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
Although St Michaels’ is a Catholic school we have many children and families from different faiths. Obviously as a Christian school we celebrate the various Christian festivals throughout the year such as Christmas, Harvest, Easter etc but we also hold assemblies on different faith traditions and festivals as well such as Divali, Black History Month, the Jewish Faith etc. In term 2 of each year we hold a Multi Faiths week to celebrate and learn about the many faiths around the world. Learning about other traditions and faiths in a culturally diverse society is essential for all of our children at St Michaels’ to prepare them for our multi cultural society.
