The Promotion of British Values

In accordance with the Department for Education we aim to actively promote British Values within all areas of Acorn Academy to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain.

The Key Values are:

Democracy

Democracy is embedded at our school.  Children are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard.  Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas throughout everyday. 

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced.  Our school has ‘School Rules’, which were developed by the children and are deeply embedded in our work every day.  Our pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken.

Individual Liberty

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.  As a school we educate and provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education.  Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our e-safety and P.S.H.E. lessons.  Whether it is through choice of challenge; of how they record; of participation extra- curricular activities; our pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect

Respect is one of the core values of our school as can be seen on our school rules – We show respect to everyone.  Children know and understand that it is expected and that it is imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small.  The core value of respect at Acorn Academy underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom.

Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

Our core value of respect ensures tolerance of those who have different faiths and beliefs.  Acorn Academy enhances children’s understanding of different faiths and beliefs through religious education lessons; P.S.H.E. learning; visits to other settings to participate in celebrations such as Diwali; welcoming visitors from other schools that are not predominately white British and enjoying a depth of study during themed weeks.   Beliefs, traditions and customs will be studied in depth, with visitors being invited in to our school to enrich and extend understanding.  Through this our pupils gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society.  

Bridge Academy Trust

Bridge Academy Trust promotes British Values through our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education which permeates through each academy's curriculum and supports the development of the 'whole child'. We recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all staff and provide a model of behaviour for our students.

We are committed to educating students with regard to their engagement and acceptance with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We aim to support our students in developing and demonstrating skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain. We value the importance of facilitating opportunities for every academy to be part of the community as the students, families and staff have much to offer in the development of community cohesion.

It is for Headteachers and Local Governing Bodies to shape how each academy does this in line with local curriculum offer, developed to meet the needs of their specific cohort of children.