British Values at Boston Pioneers

“We want every school to promote British Values within their curriculum in order for young people to accept, respect and tolerate others’ - Lord Nash

Boston Pioneers Academy is a friendly, caring setting built by the community, for the community, as part of the Government’s Free School Program. We seek to serve all.

We recognise the multi-cultural, multi faith and ever-changing nature of both the United Kingdom and the local community we serve. We see difference as something to be celebrated and understand the vital role we play in ensuring that our learners are well-prepared for life in Modern Britain where they will live and work alongside people from all backgrounds and cultures.

We understand the importance of British Values, but do not believe that these values will be developed within our learners because we expect it. Rather, we believe they need to be discussed, modelled and implicitly taught as part of our PSHE curriculum.

To support this, we follow The Linking Network’s scheme of learning for the British Values of:

 

We use the phrase, 'I really do matter too' to help us remember these.

The Linking Networks’ approach to the teaching of British Values provides our learners with an age-appropriate and meaningful understanding of the themes through half-termly lessons. It uses a spiral approach where each value is also revisited every year (Y1-Y6) to further deepen understanding. These are then reinforced throughout the year through a range of additional activities and events, including our weekly ‘Picture News’ assemblies which focus on British Values linked to real-life current events.

 British Values in Action at Boston Pioneers

These are just some examples of what we do to support the promotion of British Values at Boston Pioneers:

Democracy:

• Ensuring all learners have a ‘voice’ to communicate: be it words, pictures/symbols, signing e.g. Makaton or body language.
• Giving them opportunities to make choices about the things that they believe to be important, e.g. clubs menu.
• Using democratic processes, like voting on our Reading Spine texts and electing Academy Council representatives: 'Academy Ambassadors'.
• Encouraging them to take on leadership roles, e.g. Librarians, Playground Leaders.
• Learning about how our country is governed as part of our PSHE Curriculum and through partaking in Parliament/Democracy Week activities,
• Including within our curriculum key historical figures of the Civil Rights Movement who fought to achieve democracy, such as Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks.

Rule of Law:

• Our Academy ‘REACH’ values - especially that of Honesty.
• Involving learners in agreeing behaviour codes, e.g. Rules & Sanctions
• Teaching learners to take responsibility for their own actions, e.g. Zones of Regulation / Reflection Time which allow learners to distinguish right and wrong from a young age; thus providing a model for respecting civil and criminal law as learners step into the real world.
• Supporting learners to understand the value and reasons behind laws, I.e. that they keep them safe as part of our PSHE curriculum.
• As a setting, we enjoy strong links with local Police Community Support Officers and welcome them into the Academy to support our learners’ understanding of the Rule of Law.

Mutual Respect:

• Welcoming learners from over 20 countries and having in excess of 20 first languages other than English at Boston Pioneers Academy, we are proud of our inclusive approach.
• Celebrating the richness of the world around us, not only through our Geography Curriculum, but through strategies such as our ‘Language of the Month' and cultural activities delivered as part of our Pupil Passport, e.g. Diwali dance workshop. 
• Developing our learners' awareness and acceptance of different religions, traditions and cultures not only as part of our Religion and World Views curriculum, but through the choice of our texts in English and the artists and musicians we learn about in our wider curriculum.
• Showing compassion for others, e.g. Fundraising events. ·
• Challenging prejudice through our 'No Outsiders Programme', participation in national awareness events such as Anti-bullying week and working with individual students who may say/do things which some deem unacceptable in order that they understand why their actions are wrong.
• Celebrating each other’s achievements, e.g. Awards Assemblies.
• Discussing and promoting well-being, e.g. Mental Health Awareness Activities.
• Caring for their environment, e.g. Voyage Green Promise.

Tolerance:

Individual Liberty:

• Threading our ‘REACH’ values through Academy life from learners’ very first day with us; developing the skills of resilience, excellence, ambition, care and honesty are key as we feel these are essential employability skills.
• Taking responsibility for their own actions in terms of their behaviour and learning attitudes.
• Being encouraged to voice their opinion, e.g. learner surveys, Academy Ambassadors, debates in PSHE.
• Being encouraged to make informed choices knowing they are in a safe and supportive environment.
• Encouraging freedom of choice by providing a range of activities for our learners to choose from, such as sports clubs, art groups, etc. which allow them to follow their own interests and talents.