Saint Edmunds Catholic Primary School

At Saint Edmund’s  we are fully committed to promoting British values in line with recent Department for Education (DfE) recommendations and the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010 to keep children safe and prepare them for life in modern Britain. We welcome the DfE’s focus on strengthening the ‘spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) standard’ by actively promoting the ‘fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs, and encourage pupils to respect other people, with particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Democracy is a fundamental value of our school community and integral to all that we do. For example, pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our school council and pupil questionnaires. Topical issues such as the Scottish referendum and General Election are explored where appropriate.

The importance of laws is explored in a variety of ways and is further reinforced through the Behaviour policy. The school behaviour code promotes our high expectations regarding what is right and wrong and how to make appropriate choices. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, how they govern and protect us and the responsibilities and consequences when laws are broken.

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make informed choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school, we educate and provide boundaries for pupils to make safe choices within a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and how to exercise these safely. For example  through our e-safety and PSHE. Pupils also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of enrichment and extra-curricular residential visits, trips and clubs which are open to all.

We strongly encourage pupils to respect others and do our utmost to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying and harassment; this includes cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying relating to special educational need, sex, race, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. We are committed to giving our pupils the opportunities to flourish as rounded individuals in a learning environment which is explicitly Christian but open and respectful of differing viewpoints. Our curriculum provides young people with a context for understanding themselves and the world in which they live, in order to prepare them for their future as responsible citizens within our society. We endeavour to develop the self-esteem and self-discipline of our pupils, and develop their talents so that they realise their potential to the full.

Saint Edmund’s is an inclusive school, where all are valued irrespective of faith and traditions. Aspects of the curriculum are linked to raising pupils’ awareness and respect for, the faith and traditions of other communities – both on a local and global scale. Together with this, there is the strong emphasis on the development of social, moral, spiritual and cultural skills where pupils are encouraged to think and decide for themselves, and be tolerant of the views of others. Saint Edmund’s summer topics (God’s World and One World) help pupils understand what it means to be part of a global village and to further develop their respect for other cultures’. For example in RE, pupils investigate world religions and explore moral issues from different faith perspectives and those of no religion.

The Government and the DFE talk of the following, which are explicit and implicit throughout our work as a Catholic School.