BRITISH VALUES
At Honywood School we are committed to preparing every learner for life in modern Britain. Alongside our own school values, we actively promote the four fundamental British values identified by the Department for Education: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
These values are built up over time, not covered in a single lesson. Learners are introduced to British values in Year 7 PSHE, build on this with a dedicated session on tolerance and mutual respect in Year 8 PSHE, study a full module on British culture and values in Year 9 Core Philosophy, Religion and Citizenship (PRC), and connect these values to real-world safeguarding contexts, including extremism, in Year 10 PSHE.
Democracy
In Year 9 Core PRC, learners study the UK's political system, including the main political parties and the political spectrum, the roles of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the Nolan Principles of public life. They consider what it means for everyone to have a vote and a say in how the country is run, and where that principle came from. This gets put into practice in Year 10 ‘Democracy Day’.
The Rule of Law
In Year 9 Core PRC, learners examine the historical roots of the Rule of Law, including Magna Carta (1215) and the English Civil War, before debating the motion ‘The Rule of Law is an essential part of British society’ from historical, sociological, ethical, religious and cultural perspectives, using our Oracy Framework to structure their arguments. This builds directly into their later study of law and crime, deepening their understanding of the UK justice system.
Individual Liberty
In Year 9 Core PRC, alongside our wider PSHE/RSE curriculum and pastoral support, learners are introduced to individual liberty - the principle that, provided they are not harming others or breaking the law, people are free to make their own choices about self-expression and belief.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance
Respect is one of our core school values. Learners are introduced to British values, including mutual respect and tolerance, in Year 7 PSHE, and revisit this directly in a dedicated Year 8 PSHE session on tolerance and mutual respect. In Year 9 Core PRC, they go on to explore the diversity of modern Britain, including the impact of the British Empire and Commonwealth migration, among them the Windrush generation, on British food, sport, music and religion, and debate the question ‘Is Britain a Christian country?’, examining the history of the Church of England alongside the range of faiths practised in the UK today. This builds on the six major world religions studied earlier in our Philosophy, Religion and Citizenship curriculum.
Bringing it to life
At the end of the Year 9 British Culture module, learners choose an aspect of British culture or values they have studied and create their own resource to explain it to someone else, a leaflet, a speech, a poster or a short video, and their understanding is checked through assessment.
Keeping learners safe
Promoting British values is closely linked to our duty under the Prevent strategy to protect learners from radicalisation and extremism. Learners study extremism directly as part of our Year 10 PSHE programme, and our wider approach is set out in our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and our Prevent Safeguarding Appendix, both available on our School Policies page.
If you have any questions about how we promote British values at Honywood, please contact us.