Promoting Fundamental British Values

In accordance with The Department for Education, we aim to actively promote British values at Belmont to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is "right" and "wrong", all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are:

• Democracy
• Rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Democracy - What Do We Do?

• School voting for Pupil Parliament ministers and secretary;
• Class voting for Pupil Parliament representatives;
• Provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of, and promote respect for, public institutions and services for example through Mini Police;
• Teach pupils how they can influence decision-making through the democratic process;
• Taught through assemblies - Monday Picture News assembly and Tuesdays follow up class assemblies;
• Taught through our school curriculum and PSHE (SCARF);
• Encourage pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure they are listened to in school;
• Help pupils to express their views;
• Pupil Parliament meetings to discuss whole school issues;
• Pupil voice and questionnaires;
• Parent questionnaires;
• Pupils are given opportunities to vote towards a variety of outcomes;
• Year 5/6 annual trip to the Houses of Parliament.

Rule of Law - What Do We Do?

• Ensure school rules and expectations are clear and fair (Belmont Principles);
• Expectations, routines and rules are laid out clearly in ‘The Belmont Way’ character curriculum;
• Consequences of choices are clearly outlined to children and parents;
• Weekly Winners Wednesday assembly takes celebrating the success of of adhering to the Belmont Principles;
• Help pupils to distinguish right from wrong;
• Help pupils to respect the law and the basis on which it is made;
• Help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals;
• Explore within our PSHE lessons, laws and what to do if peer pressure is trying to persuade children to break these;
• Explore the theme within our assembly themes – Picture News Monday assemblies and follow up class assemblies;
• Mini Police – children taking part in the program and delivery of assemblies/workshops across the school;
• Replicating the school rules into residentials and school trips.

Individual Liberty - What Do We Do?

• Support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence;
• Encourage pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights;
• Model freedom of speech through pupil participation, while ensuring protection of vulnerable pupils and promoting critical analysis of evidence;
• Challenge stereotypes;
• Implement a strong anti-bullying culture;
• Life Education Bus sessions;
• Taking part in a range of awareness days;
• Connection with Inspire+ including Ambassador assemblies around a range of themes and life choices.

Mutual Respect & Tolerance Of Different Cultures and Religions – What Do We Do?

• Use of the SCARF PSHE scheme impacts learning in lessons and through Picture News assemblies to explore the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act to promote respect for individual differences and to actively challenge stereotypes;
• Use Monday assemblies for Picture News and Tuesday class assemblies to delve deeper into the links between the news stories and British values and protected characteristics.
• Explore positive role models (where possible) through our Learning Journeys who reflect the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act;
• Inspire+ assemblies and workshops are led by Ambassadors who reflect the protected characteristics;
• Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour;
• Organise visits to places of worship;
• Whole school celebration weeks focussed around anti-bullying (Anti-bullying Week), racism (Red Card to Racism/Black History Month) or mental health (Children's Mental Health Week);
• Our RE scheme ensures that our children have a good understanding of a range of religious beliefs and customs;
• Help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life.

Promoting the Protected Characteristics at Belmont School

The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Everyone in Britain is protected. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have.

Under the Equality Act, there are nine Protected Characteristics: 

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

As a school we follow the SCARF PSHE scheme of learning. SCARF’s values of Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship, which underpin all its content, align strongly with the key principles of SMSC.

By tailoring and teaching the SCARF curriculum,  we support this valuable area of children's learning, enabling them to make appropriate choices as they navigate the rich, varied, often complex and ever-evolving life in modern Britain - and the world. We also hold a weekly Picture News assembly, focusing on recent news and how it links directly to the British Values and the Protected Characteristics. These assemblies are then followed up with a class assembly, where we delve deeper into the connection between the news story, the British Values and the Protected Characteristics.

How SCARF Supports Teaching And Learning About Protected Characteristics

The UK government recognises how important it is that "All children gain an understanding of the world they are growing up in, and learn how to live alongside, and show respect for, a diverse range of people" (Ofsted guidance: Inspecting teaching of the protected characteristics in schools, UK Gov. 2021). Schools must also promote equality and pupils’ understanding of the protected characteristics. They are not required to teach about all the protected characteristics in every year group; that is a matter for the school to decide, and how it plans its curriculum. However, the curriculum should be planned and delivered so that children develop age-appropriate knowledge and understanding during their time at the school.

Crucially, the guidance goes on to state that: 

"There is a range of ways schools can choose to teach about these issues in an age-appropriate way. Primary schools could, for example, teach pupils about the different types of family groups that exist within society... As stated in the DfE’s statutory guidance, teaching on these matters should be integrated appropriately into the curriculum, rather than addressed separately or in one-off lessons".

Teaching and learning about protected characteristics is fully integrated into SCARF, through age-appropriate content across the SCARF spiral curriculum. The purpose of this teaching Is to develop an understanding of the protected characteristics to educate our pupils so they have the knowledge and understanding to not discriminate against those with a protected characteristic.