In accordance with The Department for Education we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are:

• democracy
• rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect
• tolerance of those of different faiths and belief

How do we teach British Values?

We don’t plan specific ‘lessons’ to teach children British values – they should be included in everything we do. Britain has undergone rapid economic and social change in the last few decades and we live in an increasingly diverse society. We need to teach our children that it is possible to live together peacefully, each of them a valuable part of our multicultural world.

Ofsted inspectors are required to make a judgement about how well we deliver a curriculum which includes teaching children about British values – and preparing them for life in modern Britain. So we like to show that we are doing this by including this in our planning. It is important to work closely with parents as well – to let them know that we are going to be teaching their children British values as part of their day-to-day curriculum and give them some indication of the types of things you will cover - and remind them that the EYFS requires you to provide them with ideas which they can use at home.

Examples of ways we, as teachers and parents can help to teach British Values at school and at home:

You might be on an outing to the local park or out and about:

Or within your local community some of the children in your provision might be celebrating Diwali at home.

Or you plan a session to work through your behaviour goals with the children:

Here are some examples of how British Values are embedded in our day-to-day curriculum:

• We teach children to be kind, helpful and respectful of others;
• We teach children to be part of their local community;
• We plan to celebrate festivals and mark special days from the world around us;
• We teach the children about compromise – that some of us believe one thing… some of us believe something totally different… but we can all play together in the same house (or group setting) and respect each other.

British values: teaching about similarities and differences.

• We teach children to work together – we provide them with projects that involve everyone in the provision and we plan group times, where children learn to listen, take turns and value contributions from others. This type of planning is a very important part of
• British values: teaching about shared values and working together towards a common goal;
• We teach children about the world in which they live – the world on their doorstep and the wider world – through books, posters, planned activities, resources, outings and much more;
• We teach children to listen and respect others…

Here are some ways in which we can teach children about life in modern Britain:

• We teach children about the world around them and use the seasons, weather, special days etc to plan meaningful learning experiences.
• We teach children about Britain, showing them the work of sculptors and artists to inspire creativity, listening to music to promote dance and drama (and listening skills of course).
• We extend teaching, using the library and online sources of information and support them as they learn to respect others by introducing music, dance, art etc from around the world.