British Values | Crossacres Primary Academy

Promoting British Values at Crossacres Primary Academy.In 2011 the Department for Education set out its definition of British Values, which were reiterated in 2014. The DfE believe 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 Crossacres Primary Academy these values are reinforced regularly. Here are a few examples of how we promote British Values in our everyday Curriculum:

Equality and DemocracyWe have representatives from classes in each year group, who form our school council. The council meets regularly to discuss issues raised in the academy and are able to bring about change within the academy, in consultation with the senior leadership team.Through our curriculum, children are taught about, and encouraged to respect, public institutions and services. Children contribute to polls and votes in all manner of things within our classes. For example, in Reception, some children were put forward as our school council nominee and the children voted for who they would like to be their representative.During RE lessons, religions in Britain are studied, according to guidance from the new RE Scheme of Work, and there is a collective focus upon a variety of religious festivals and days of importance throughout the year.We are also involved in AfriTwin. This involves teachers from South Africa and Zimbabwe visiting Crossacres and spending time with children in all classes, whilst teachers from our academy visit Battswood, in South Africa and CrossDale in Zimbabwe. It is a fantastic opportunity for the children to become involved in as it gives them the chance to learn about different ways of life. The children often come up with some fantastic questions, which lead to some fascinating conversations. We look forward to seeing our visitors every year!

The Rule of LawThe importance of laws, whether they are the class rules, the academy’s, or the country’s, are consistently reinforced at Crossacres. Visits from the Police; Fire Service; Ambulance e.t.c. help to reinforce this message. Children are taught, from an early age, the rules of the school.. They are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws, that they are there to protect us, the responsibility that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Each year the children work together with their teacher to mutually decide upon their class rules and the rights and responsibilities associated with these.Specific roles in society, relating to the rule of law are investigated in year groups. For example, Reception consider the role of the police, paramedics, doctors, dentists and firemen in the unit ‘People who help us’.

Individual Rights Here at Crossacres, we believe it is fundamentally important for children to know their rights. Due to this, we are currently working towards becoming a Rights Respecting School.

What are the benefits of becoming a Rights Respecting School?

The main areas of impact that we aim to improve through embedding children’s rights within our school are:

Improved self-esteem and well-being
Improved relationships and behaviour
Maximise engagement in learning
Positive attitudes towards diversity in society and the reduction of prejudice across all religions and cultures

Children and young people’s enhanced moral understanding
Children and young people’s support for global justice
Children and young people become more involved in decision-making in schools

What is the RSSA?The letters RRSA represent ‘Rights Respecting School Award’. The award is given by UNICEF to a school for recognising the ‘rights’ of a child. There are 3 awards, they are:

1) Recognition of Commitment

2) Level 1

3) Level 2

Currently, our school is completing the Recognition of Commitment.

Please take a look at the charter below:

Children’s Rights Charter English

Children’s Rights Charter Arabic

Please take a look at our School Right Map:

School Rights Map

Here are a variety of our displays across the school.

E-Safety

At Crossacres, children are actively encouraged to make their own choices. We educate and provide boundaries for the children to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education.

Year 6 children are discussing all about the importance of staying safe whilst using Social Media.

Here is Mr Silva teaching his Year 6 children all about the importance of being safe whilst exploring the Internet.

Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely. For example, our computing curriculum advises our children how to exercise their rights and personal freedoms safely online when they look at E-Safety. Crossacres has a robust anti bullying culture and a fervent belief in E-Safety; this is further reinforced through anti-bullying week, regular E-Safety assemblies and a strong, bespoke E-Safety Curriculum in each year group.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

Here is Miss Hutchinson's (Reception class) display on friendships. When the children are Pupil of the Week, their photo is put in the centre of the class circle.

Here is Reception class display on friendships. When the children are Pupil of the Week, their photo is put in the centre of the class circle.

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values and ethos here at Crossacres. Students learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. We hold whole school assemblies, which promote respect and equality. The children enjoy the assemblies and learn how to show respect and interest in other cultures as well as within their own.

Here is our display which shows who our Key Stage 1 and 2 Playground Pals are. This allows our children to know who to look our for if they need somebody to play with.

Every Monday morning we hold a whole school celebrations assembly where we celebrate the children who are Pupil of the Week for something outstanding they have achieved in the previous week. We welcome parents to this assembly as we feel it is a great achievement to share. The reasons behind why the child is Pupil of the Week are shared with the whole school, which allows time for the other children to reflect on what they can do to achieve Pupil of the Week in the future, in order to make a great contribution to their class and to the school as a whole.