References

• HM Government home office 07.06.2011 Policy paper: Prevent Strategy 2011 Ref: ISBN 9780101809221 Crown Copyright.
• Counter Extremism Strategy : October 2015
• Terrorism Act 2006
• Rowe, D (2001) A brief Guide – Democracy in Schools and the Local Community.

From July 2015, the Counter Terrorism and Security Act placed a statutory duty on all schools to prevent people being drawn into terrorism and extremism.

Definition of extremism

Extremism is the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also regard calls for the death of members of our armed forces extremist. (Counter Extremism Strategy October 2015)

Definition of terrorism

Terrorism is defined as action designed to influence the government, intimidate the public, Its purpose is to advance a political, religious or ideological cause that endangers or causes serious violence or harm to people, property or seriously disrupts or interferes with an electronic system. (Terrorism Act 2006)

In School we…

Since 2012, it has been required by law for all educationalists to uphold fundamental British Values.

The government set out its definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.  The Department for Education state that there is a 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.”

At Primet Primary School we are committed to upholding these values alongside our core values of kindness, respect and trust. We ensure that they are reinforced regularly through teaching and learning which has a clear focus on enabling all children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We are aware Inspectors will assess and verify the breadth and balance of the school’s curriculum and whether it is likely to promote preparation for, and an appreciation of, life in modern Britain.

Modern Britain

Primet Primary is committed to serving its local, national and international community. We recognise the multi-cultural, multi faith and ever-changing landscape of the United Kingdom. We encourage children and staff to witness these values in their everyday lives. The teachers’ standards expect teachers to uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school.  This includes not undermining fundamental British values. We are confident that our curriculum and emphasis on learner attributes will give our children the necessary awareness of what it means to be a good citizen in Britain today and embed in them the building blocks of a future successful and productive life. We teach about democracy, civic responsibility, rules and laws, the monarchy, equality, values and virtues through the national curriculum including PHSCE, environmental awareness and the understanding of other faiths. The Staff and Governors use every opportunity to promote the rich ethos of our school and seek to serve all so that all feel a sense of belonging and welcome.

Democracy

Respect for democracy, democratic participation and active involvement of all pupils is evident across the school. We aim to provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of and promote respect for public institutions and services.  Our aim is to teach pupils how they can influence decision making through the democratic process. Consequently we strive to provide children, parents and staff with many opportunities for their voices to be heard in school. We have an active school council whose members are chosen / elected by the children. The school councillors work alongside the senior leaders in school to enable them to influence and make decisions in matters which affect their lives within the school.  This reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action.

In Early Years, as part of the focus on self-confidence and self-awareness, as cited in Personal, Social and Emotional Development, staff encourage children to see their role in the bigger picture, encouraging children to know their views count, value each other’s views and values and talk about their feelings, for example when they do and do not need help. Democracy in action is demonstrated through adult and child inspired topic selections and all children’s ideas are actively sought through shared sessions where activities and opportunities to develop enquiring minds are promoted.

Our children make decisions together:

• We have a say in what happens through School Council.
• We contribute to our topics and influence activities and changes to our school resources.

Rules and Law

The importance of rules and laws, whether they be those that govern our class, school or our country, are referred to and consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through Assemblies. Pupils are taught to have respect for the basis on which the law is made and how the law is applied in England. We aim to teach children the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect all of us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Planned visits from the police and fire service and appreciation of rules in sport are regular parts of our school calendar and help reinforce this message. We promote outstanding behaviour and this is sustained through our behaviour policy, thus ensuring that school rules and expectations are clear and fair and all our pupils understand that rules are there to protect us just as living under the rule of law protects all individuals in society.

Our children understand why rules are important:

• We develop fair rules for our classrooms to develop order.
• We understand that rules are developed to support and prepare us for the world of work and life in general.

Individual Liberty

We actively promote and model individual liberty by supporting children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence eg. through, our way of treating people, by investing heavily in meeting the needs of all of the children, by providing equality of opportunity and by knowing and understanding the needs of all of the children. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and exercise them safely, for example through Online Safety, Life Education lessons and menu choices.  Within school, children are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We reassure children to take responsibility for their behaviour as well as knowing their rights eg. through linking rights with responsibilities and by having a fair and consistent approach to the behaviour policy. Whether it is promoted through choice of challenge, how they record or by individual participation in our extra-curricular activities, children are given the freedom to make choices. We welcome freedom of speech through pupil participation, while ensuring protection of vulnerable pupils and challenging stereotyping of others. We implement and actively promote a strong anti-bullying culture and invite visitors into school to support our anti bullying policy.

Our children demonstrate freedom for all:

• We make our own choices and understand the rewards or consequences of our own actions.

Mutual Respect:

Pupils are expected to show mutual respect towards everything and everyone, regardless of individual differences, at all times. This is achieved through enhancing children’s understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity.  We actively promote and model respect and tolerance by promoting respect for individual differences through the RE curriculum, multicultural, multi-faith weeks and activities and through our ethos. All children, adults and visitors are expected to behave respectfully and we will challenge anybody who displays prejudicial or discriminatory behaviours. Pupils take part in class discussions related to what this means and how it is shown. For our early years children, much of our curriculum is aimed at developing personal and social skills which enhance their learning, including knowing about similarities and differences between themselves and others and among families.

Our children treat others as they want to be treated:

• We work together to help one another.
• We respect each other’s physical space
• We respect each other’s contributions to discussion
• We take on group roles to support the learning of our peers

Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

We will help pupils to acquire an understanding of and respect for their own and other cultures and ways of life. This is achieved by enhancing pupils’ understanding through the curriculum, of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving pupils opportunities to experience such diversity. Assemblies and discussions involving identifying and combating discrimination, prejudices and prejudice- based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PHSCE. We organise visits to places of worship, openly discuss and celebrate the differences between people such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and different family situations. We encourage our children to participate in a wide range of events and provide opportunities for pupils to serve the wider community in order to nurture tolerance and harmony, understanding and respect between all members of our society.

Our children enjoy learning about different faiths and cultures:

• We listen carefully to other peoples points of view.
• We investigate traditions, customs and religious practices and how they strengthen the multi-cultural world we live in.
• We discuss how diversity makes us what we are today.

Whistle Blowing

Where there are concerns of extremism or radicalisation Pupils and Staff will be encouraged to make use of our internal systems to Whistle Blow or raise any issue in confidence. Please refer to School Whistle Blowing Policy.

Child Protection

Please refer to our Child Protection Policy for the full procedural framework on our Child Protection duties. Staff at our school will be alert to the fact that whilst Extremism and Radicalisation is broadly a safeguarding issue there may be some instances where a child or children may be at direct risk of harm or neglect. For example; this could be due to a child displaying risky behaviours in terms of the activities they are involved in or the groups they are associated with or staff may be aware of information about a child’s family that may equally place a child at risk of harm. (These examples are for illustration and are not definitive or exhaustive) Therefore all adults working at our school (including visiting staff, volunteers’ contractors, and students on placement) are required to report Preventing Extremism and Radicalisation Policy Statement v3 (September 2017) instances where they believe a child may be at risk of harm or neglect to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Headteacher.

Training

Whole school in-service training on Safeguarding and Child Protection will be organised annually for staff and governors and will comply with the prevailing arrangements agreed by the Local Authority and the Safeguarding Children Board and will, in part, include training on extremism and radicalisation and its safeguarding implications. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will attend training courses as necessary and the appropriate inter-agency training organised by the Safeguarding Children Board at least every two years, again this will include training on extremism and radicalisation and its safeguarding implications.

Recruitment

The arrangements for recruiting all staff, permanent and volunteers, to our school will follow LA guidance for safer recruitment best practice in education settings, including, but not limited to, ensuring that DBS checks are always made at the appropriate level, that references are always received and checked and that we complete and maintain a single central record of such vetting checks. We will apply safer recruitment best practice principles and sound employment practice in general and in doing so will deny opportunities for inappropriate recruitment or advancement. We will be alert to the possibility that persons may seek to gain positions within our school so as to unduly influence our schools character and ethos. We are aware that such persons seek to limit the opportunities for our pupils thereby rendering them vulnerable to extremist views and radicalisation as a consequence. Therefore, by adhering to safer recruitment best practice techniques and by ensuring that there is an on-going culture of vigilance within our school and staff team we will minimise the opportunities for extremist views to prevail.

Role of Governing Body

The Governing Body of our School will undertake appropriate training to ensure that they are clear about their role and the parameters of their responsibilities as Governors, including their statutory safeguarding duties. The Governing Body of our school will support the ethos and values of our school and will support the school in tackling extremism and radicalisation. In line with Recommendation 13 of Peter Clarke’s report details of our Governing Body will be published on our school website to promote transparency. In line with the provisions set out in the DfE guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2019’ the governing body will challenge the school’s senior management team on the delivery of this policy and monitor its effectiveness. Governors will review this policy regularly (every three years) and may amend and adopt it outside of this timeframe in accordance with any new legislation or guidance or in response to any quality assurance recommendations pertaining to the delivery of this policy and the overall safeguarding arrangements made.

Actions Going Forward

1. To increase understanding of what “British Values” means amongst staff and children in the context of “Modern Britain”.

 

The statement will be reviewed every 3 years

 Next review:  November 2022