In support of the Department for Education (DofE) document: Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools, Departmental advice for maintained schools, November 2014.
The DofE states 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 Keir Hardie, we are committed to serving our diverse multicultural, multi-faith and ever-changing community. We believe it is essential that our pupils are equipped with the tools they need to support them growing up in modern British society. We want all pupils that attend our school to have the opportunity to develop a strong set of values and principles, and question and understand what it means to grow up as a citizen in Britain. We want our pupils to know our British Values underpinning what is to be a good citizen, while valuing and celebrating diversity.
Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our pupils on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world and the wider world. What is meant by British values?
The five British values that the Government has identified for schools to focus on are:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- mutual respect
- tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
Our curriculum is designed to ensure that our pupils have the opportunity to learn and reflect on the British values that underpin our lives and to recognise the valuable role that they play as emerging citizens in British society. We also ensure our curriculum supports pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC) equipping them to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens in our school and in wider society.
We participate in all the “walk to school” events and have achieved a Gold Award for our 2023 School Travel Plan.
Intent
We want pupils to feel empowered to make a positive change in the school community. Through the teaching and application of the fundamental British Values, pupils will understand how to suggest and make decisions democratically whilst respecting the expectations and boundaries of the school.
Pupils will get the opportunity to join curriculum teams and work alongside school leaders to actively promote positive learning behaviours, subject knowledge and bridge communication between staff and pupils. Pupil leaders will share the needs of the school community with all vested members through a range of communication channels and community projects. This will help to advocate for a rich and meaningful school curriculum built on high expectations that meet both the educational needs, and the social, moral, spiritual and cultural (SMSC) context of Keir Hardie. We want the words ‘ effective’, ‘pioneers’, ‘knowledgeable’, ‘caring’ and ‘creative’ to be synonymous with Keir Hardie children and pupil leaders.
Implementation
Pupil leadership groups will be created within the curriculum to support pupil voice and contribution to subject development. Pupil leadership groups including sports leaders, prefects, school councillors, reading buddies, librarians, lunch time monitors, digital ambassadors, eco-team and librarians will be created across EYFS-Year 6. Pupils that demonstrate passion, positive learning behaviours and keen subject knowledge/skills will have the opportunity to put themselves forward as curriculum advocates, working closely with community and school to promote high expectations and pupil voice throughout Keir Hardie. Pupils will be encouraged to apply for leadership roles, writing proposals and being interviewed on their suitability for the role. Pupils who are selected through the democratic process will be given the responsibility to help promote positive learning behaviour, reading skills, healthy eating and exercise, safe online habits, care for the school environment and sustainability.
Pupil leaders will meet regularly with their subject specialist and classmates to share ideas and learning within the school curriculum. Minutes and projects will be documented and shared in school and on the website to celebrate positive change and encourage discussion of school issues. All subject leads will also ensure that within their learning journeys there are opportunities for pupil voice to be recorded, school enrichment days where aspects of SMSC can be linked to their subject to promote community cohesion and development of curricular knowledge and engagement amongst pupils and staff. Examples of SMSC link days/events may include:
History: Cultural dress day, heritage week, Royal British Legion
Geography/Science: COP 28, Walk to school week, Lights off, recycling workshop
P.E: Walk to school, TFL Stars, Healthy schools fortnight, Healthy schools award
R.E: Big question, Heritage week, Nativity
PSHCE: Work week, Democracy week, Community fair
Art: School exhibition
Community leaders will also be invited to work with our pupils to inspire and develop relevant knowledge and skills needed to make a positive change in society.
Keir Hardie will also showcase our effective SMSC curriculum and pupil leaders through TFL Stars, Healthy Schools award and collaboration with the Newham network meetings and eco-schools forum.
Impact
Pupil voice will become a natural and powerful part of the school culture. Pupils will feel confident to apply speaking, writing and research skills to develop the school curriculum and to share pupil views with school leaders and vice versa. This will help with children’s written and spoken communication and ability to convey ideas through written work, presentations, public speaking and debating.
The curriculum will be more meaningful with content taking into consideration the SMSC, interests and needs of our pupils. Staff will see pupils as equal members of the school community, understanding the value and role pupil voice has in shaping the school environment. This will help contribute to positive learning behaviour around school as children will see learning as more relevant to their lives, their feedback will help shape the lessons and pupils will feel more confident to communicate and respond to feedback from others.
Pupils from EYFS-Yr 6 will be active members in taking care of the school community, demonstrating and talking about how they support the daily running of the school and their responsibilities. Pupils will enjoy and feel safer in the school, using MAGIC habits within their learning and understanding the purpose and need for British Values in everyday life. As pupils and staff members feel safer to work in improved learning environments, school members will feel happier which will support individuals to implement mindfulness practices and promote mental and physical well being.
Pupils will also develop and apply communication, reading, writing, digital, social, time management and team building skills which will help prepare them in their future lives including next stages of education, employment and family.
Keir Hardie pupils will be articulate in highlighting the challenges and celebrations within our school community. They will be able to explain their role and impact within the school curriculum and world around them. They will feel empowered with skills and knowledge gained from the curriculum to suggest how to solve school problems or continue school successes.
Latest News
Platinum Jubilee/British Values Art Workshop – May/June 2022
Over 2 weeks, ArtsGeneration have been working with all pupils across the school to make a large-scale artwork to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Pupils have been thinking in class about what Britishness means to them individually and looking at this in the context of British identity as a whole. Each pupil has decorated a CD/DVD disc with their own design and these will form part of a large union jack design.
Remembrance Day
Our SEND pupils had an art session in the greenhouse with Mrs Gilani on Wednesday 10th November to commemorate the fallen soldiers who died for their country. The results were amazing!
Heritage Week
Heritage/Cultural Dress Day
To further celebrate our backgrounds and wonderfully diverse community during Heritage Week, Keir Hardie pupils and staff dressed in traditional clothing on Cultural / Heritage Dress Day.
Democracy Week
The week of 18th October was Democracy Week at Keir Hardie, which tied in with the elections of this year’s School Councillors! Children learnt about voting, the principles of democracy and its importance in British life.
Harvest 2021
Thank you to all our families who contributed to this year’s Harvest collection for St Mark’s Church Food Bank. Please see our Harvest presentation to pupils and some pictures of your amazing donations.
Heritage Week
To celebrate Keir Hardie’s rich cultural diversity, during heritage week we celebrated different cultural backgrounds represented in the school, pupils and staff wore traditional clothes representing their heritage.
It was fantastic to see all the vibrant colours and an array of beautiful styles, pupils and staff were very proud to speak about the importance of the clothes they were wearing.
It was also a great opportunity to learn, celebrate and share food from different countries.
Speech Making
Year Six had the amazing opportunity to perform at the East London Speech-Making Festival on 29th November 2019. Their speeches emphasised the dangers of increasing climate change and ways in which the young generation can move forward. What a fantastic opportunity!
Harvest Festival
The children on the school council organised a collection of food for the Harvest Festival, they then visited Newham Food Bank to get a better understanding of what happens to the food collection, how it is organised and distributed. The information was shared in a whole school assembly.
Visit to the Houses of Parliament
Year 6 pupils visited the Houses of Parliament, a great opportunity to discuss British values. As part of the day, the children visited the House of Commons and the House of Lords. They reflected on the qualities of a good leader and were encouraged to aspire to these leadership positions in the future. They also spent the day learning about making laws using the procedure laid down by Parliament.
Rights & Respect Week
11-15 November was our Rights and Respect week which coincided with National Anti-Bullying week. It was an opportunity for the whole school community to reflect on our safeguarding procedures, discuss this year’s theme ‘Change Starts With Us’ and revise the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We held discussions, debates, drama and workshops by Chain Reaction Theatre company (for staff, pupils and parents) and NSPCC assemblies and workshops.
Police Workshops for Year 5/6 Pupils
Yr5 and Year 6 pupils learnt about homophobic language and the effects that on-line bullying has on individuals, especially outside the confines of the school. This was the perfect opportunity for pupils to ask questions linked to these particular foci. Pupils found this to be very informative and are now very aware of how they can seek help if they are subject to this.
Respect & Safety on TFL
We teach our pupils about safety on London transport, they part in workshops delivered by TFL. The aim of the workshops are to promote safe, responsible and respectful behaviour on and around London’s transport system and to provide valuable lessons on how to best use the services provided.’
Healthy Lifestyles
Cycling
At Keir Hardie we are always seeking to promote healthy and sustainable lifestyles. Cycling and scooting are two of the pleasures that many of our children enjoy and as a school we encourage children to cycle or scoot to school on a regular basis. The pictures below show how many bikes and scooters we have in our storage racks on a normal day.
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Activemark
We have the Activemark, and all our children experience at least 2 hours of PE every week.
We have the full range of sports clubs and activities, including KS1 multi-skills, KS2 multi-skills, football, basketball and dance classes for KS1 and Year 6.
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Key Stage 2 classes take part in a cycle training and road safety course.
We have had the local authority’s Food in Schools project recently to update our menu, and children find now our menu is healthier.
All pupils have free school meals for the next two years.
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Children learn about how the body works, how to care for it and what makes a healthy lifestyle through the curriculum.
We participate in all the “walk to school” events and have achieved a Bronze Award for our School Travel Plan.
