School Values & British Values

Our core values of respect, courage and co-operation underpin everything that we do to ensure that Greenleys First School truly is a place ‘where children come first!’. At the same time, we also teach and support the British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.  We have a strong and well planned programme of assemblies that are designed to help pupils understand and explore both our core values and British values.

Our Core Values

What does the value of respect mean at our school?

At our school we expect all pupils and staff to show respect for each other in the way that they speak and behave. Our children are expected to speak politely, remember their manners and use kind words. We expect our staff to model respect and reward pupils for getting it right. We also expect pupils to show respect in the way that they treat their own and school belongings both inside the classroom and school buildings and in their learning and play outside.  We also expect pupils to show respect for their bodies and we have a strong emphasis on healthy active lifestyles.

What does the value of courage mean at our school?

At our school we consider courage in a number of ways. The first is about children having the courage to try new things, whether that is a different type of food at lunchtime or a new type of method in mathematics. It is about encouraging children to be brave, to take calculated risks, acknowledging that they might fail, but learning from the experience. It is also about having the courage to stand up for themselves, to have the confidence to say no and that it is OK to disagree but at the same time doing so in a respectful way. We aim to develop children that are confident in their own decisions and won’t be subjected to peer pressure.

What does the value of co-operation mean at our school?

As a school we believe in the importance of teaching our pupils to co-operate from the moment they set foot in Reception aged just 4 or 5 years. We want our pupils to learn to play and learn together towards common goals that brings them success. We focus on helping children to understand and name their feelings and emotions, how they change in different group situations and how to regulate their emotions when they become upset or distressed. We use the Zones of Regulation model to support children in this vital process.

Our British Values

What does democracy mean at our school?

Being democratic is about fairness and giving everyone the equal right to voice their opinion. It helps people work together and be part of a team, working towards the same goal. Being democratic is also about listening to others and trying to understand how they think. We will often use an informal voting system within lessons, classes and assembly to make democratic decisions for example, about what our ‘Class reward’ that we will work towards might be for the half term.

What does rule of law mean at our school?

Rule of law is an agreed and shared sense of what is right and wrong. It’s also about enforcing rules and laws through our public sector, which includes the police, courts, judges and governing bodies. As a value, rule of law ensures a peaceful approach to everyday life where everyone abides by the same laws and no one gets treated differently.

At Greenleys First School we have three simple rules that make up our pupil code of conduct: we are ready, we are respectful and we are safe. We help pupils to understand that rules are designed to help everyone feel safe and respected at school.

What does individual liberty mean at our school?

Individual liberty means that people have the freedom and right to think and express what they feel, as long as it is within the laws of the country. That means having individual liberty is also about being responsible for what you say and do, as it will have a direct effect on other people. In Britain, we are free to express ourselves with confidence and independence, but we must take responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

At Greenleys First School we teach pupils that it is OK to have any feelings and emotions but that we need to express them in positive and kind ways.  We reward positive choices that follow our pupil code of conduct but we also teach them that there are consequences if they make negative choices that go against this code of conduct – our rule of law.

What does tolerance and respect mean at our school?

At Greenleys First School we teach children that if people are practising tolerance and respect, they are being tolerant and respectful. Tolerance and respect is about understanding, listening to and living alongside people who have a different belief, faith and lifestyle to you. It’s about showing empathy, thoughtfulness and understanding that there is no one way to be British. We are all different and that is something we should celebrate.

We have a well-planned and thorough programme of assemblies that explores important festivals from many religious and cultural backgrounds around the world in order that pupils are made aware that there are many different ways of living and/or believing that may be similar or different to their own.  The underlying theme to the discussion in our assemblies is around being tolerant of others and celebrating uniqueness and difference.