The Cooper School: Promotion of British Values
Audit of provision: April 2015
The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and these values have been reiterated by the Prime Minister this year.
These values are reinforced at The Cooper School:
Students are encouraged to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. Our vertical tutoring system allows our students to access key members of staff who frequently encourage our students to reflect on their achievements and who ensure that praise is used effectively. A fundamental component of the school nurse’s role is to work with students to raise their levels of self-esteem and coping strategies. Much of her work focuses on emotional health and how students can improve their resilience and ability to cope with stressful situations. Self-awareness is further explored with our education coach within workshops and one to one sessions.
Processes are in place at school for students to distinguish right from wrong. We have a robust behaviour policy which clearly states our school standards and the sanctions applied should these standards not be upheld. We work with parents to ensure that standards are adhered to with parents being required to sign a home/school agreement on enrolment to the school. Our police liaison officer is a frequent presence in school and he does pieces of work (including assemblies and one to one sessions) when appropriate.
Our students are encouraged to accept responsibility for their behaviour through our system of reporting incidents and our follow up procedures. This allows students the opportunity to be honest and accept responsibility. We have a consistent approach to behaviour to ensure our students are aware of our expectations of them. Much work is done by the educational coach, school counsellor and school nurse to discuss strategies in times of stress to avoid misbehaviour. Our Student Support Managers use conflict resolution methods with students to move situations forward. We also hold valuable assemblies on bullying to highlight the impact on victims in order to allow our students to reflect on the impact of their actions.
House charity events allow our students to understand how they can contribute to the lives of others. Representatives from the recipient charities attend assemblies to talk about the impact of the money raised by our students. Our school is the first one in the country to have signed a charter for Remembrance Day with the Royal British Legion. Students are taught to consider how their behaviour and actions impact on those around them.
Professionals at the school support our students to acquire a broad knowledge and respect for public institutions. This ranges from guest speakers including our local Member of Parliament to associated professionals such as the police liaison officer, school nurse and representatives from local businesses.
We enable students to appreciate different cultures and traditions, including their own within curriculum areas such as history, geography and religious studies as well as in assemblies and within our PSHE programme.
Students are encouraged to respect each other. This is a fundamental aspect of our support for wellbeing within school with the promotion of safety, respect and understanding of others.
Students are encouraged to respect democracy, the democratic process and the law. We have an active Student Voice with students being asked their opinions about important school issues and this ensures our students are aware of the principles of democracy. The school nurse discusses competency and the law before beginning pieces of work with students, so too does our educational coach and school councillor.
Many curriculum areas contribute to the teaching of British Values and the school has audited all subjects and key stages in which a student may expect to come across these values being taught. Most subject areas contribute directly and explicitly to the teaching of British Values, including Business, Economics and Law, English, History, RE, Sociology and Government and Politics, Science, Drama, Psychology, Music and Geography.