Promoting British Values

British Values are a key aspect of all teaching now and at Connor Downs Academy it sits firmly in within Personal and Health Education (PHE) and Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural education (SMSC).

There are 4 fundamental British Values:

• Democracy

• The rule of law

• Individual liberty

• Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Through our provision we aim to:

• Enable children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence

• Enable children to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England

• Encourage children to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely

• Enable children to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England.

• Develop further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling children to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures

• Encourage respect for other people

• Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England

By the time children leave Connor Downs Academy we aim for children to have:

• An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process

• An appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety

• An understanding that there is a separation of power between the executive and the judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence.

• An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law

• An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour

• An understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination