British Values are displayed in all classrooms and children have planned opportunities throughout the year to discuss them, explore them and reflect on them and how we can live them in our own lives.  These British Values are:

 

 

These opportunities may be through PSHE, English, history, geography and RE lessons and through worship.

 

Promoting British Values at Copp School

 

The DfE have recently reinforced the need "to create and enforce a clear and rigorous 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 with different faiths and beliefs."

 

The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated this year (2014). Promoting ‘British values’ and teaching children to respect each other’s differences is a very important part of life at Copp and such values are a key part of our ethos.

 

We already promote the core aspects of British values through our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) work which is the foundation of our PSHE curriculum and which permeates throughout all lessons. We recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all the staff who provide an excellent model of behaviour for pupils.

 

Democracy

 

All children at Copp have a voice and different opportunities to be involved in their education.

 

At the start of each year they work together to create their class charter which forms the basis of the rules and responsibilities for the year.

 

A range of questionnaires are completed by pupils in order to give them ownership of Copp.  These have included playground, lunch, safety and learning questionnaires.  Staff use this feedback to improve provision at Copp.

 

We have a school council (CSC) who meet regularly to discuss issues, ways of making the school better and how we can work with the community. CSC, which is elected in a democratic way, is the pupils’ opportunity to raise issues, decide how money is spent, organise events and activities for the school and put forward their suggestions for curriculum ideas. Through all areas of the curriculum, children are taught the importance of listening to others and their viewpoint, allowing the pupils to gain a full understanding of democracy.

 

The Rule of Law

 

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced at Copp. Pupils are taught from an early age the rules and values of the school. We involve pupils in all areas of rulemaking, rewards and sanctions within the school. There is a range of rewards including Star of the Week, Big Heart of the Week and Golden Time.  Equally, the consistency shown in dealing with negative behaviour ensures that all children learn the importance of laws, not just within school but within the community and country.

 

Individual Liberty

 

Making the right choices and being responsible for those are important principles at Copp School. All children receive equal opportunities and are encouraged to be independent in making the choice that is right for them, knowing that they are in a safe and a supportive environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our eSafety and PSHE lessons.

 

Mutual Respect

 

Mutual respect is at the heart of our mission statement. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect.

 

Tolerance

 

We actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. The values of tolerance and respect for others are reinforced, not just through PSHE and RE lessons, but also through the wider curriculum and in our general ethos. We educate our pupils to understand that everyone is different and try to help them appreciate the difficulties that others may struggle with, for example through our recent Deaf Awareness week.

 

British History

 

Pupils are taught to understand the different periods in our history in a chronological order. This takes place in both KS1 and KS2 with cross curricular topic work linked to the study of specific periods in British history which underpins notions of our shared heritage, values and traditions. In addition the school commemorates historic events such as Armistice Day.

 

Commitment to charity work

 

At Copp, we encourage our pupils to participate in and support good causes and charities. (Please see the tab on Charity Work)