At Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School , we recognise the importance of preparing children for life in modern Britain and promoting values that are an integral part of 21st century British society.
The Key Values are:
We actively promote British Values across all subject areas, alongside the Early Years. Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people are subject to the law.
We aim to widen the children’s knowledge and experience of what is relevant today to support them in making informed choices. In PSHE, RE and other curriculum lessons, pupils take part in regular debates and discussions. E-safety sessions also promote the importance of children making informed choices about keeping themselves safe.
The Equality Act 2010 combined nine separate pieces of legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and strengthening it in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality.
The Act introduced 9 protected characteristics;
As a school we do not prejudice and are fully inclusive and supportive of our whole learning community. The protected characteristics are also represented in our curriculum for PSHE and RSE, alongside resources used by pupils in school. Assemblies across the year also relate to these. At Ghost Hill we believe that children should be provided with opportunities, books and resources that provide a mirror to themselves alongside a window to the wider world.
We have a pupil elected School Council, who are elected by their class peers. They are responsible for making our school a better place. The election of the members reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action. Candidates share qualities of leadership, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected representative and pupils vote in secret, using ballot boxes. School Council meet up regularly to discuss issues raised by different classes. Pupils across the school use their voice to share ideas and concerns with the members of school council. This forms the basis of further discussion and important decision making. School Council provide feedback to the whole school and they have made their presence known to the school governors. We hope through embedding pupil voice and parliament, we will create a better understanding of living in a democratic society.
Democracy is built into daily provision i.e. by voting for the book to be read at story time.
Parents’ opinions are welcomed at Ghost Hill through methods such as questionnaires, surveys, parents evenings and open days. Pupils voice is also sought frequently and a hands up / down survey completed with pupils to gain their opinion in an age appropriate way.
Our pupils will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire lives. The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, the community, or the country, are consistently reinforced in an age appropriate way at Ghost Hill.
Pupils are taught from an early age the rules of the school. At Ghost Hill we have three rules which relate to all aspects of school life. The are:
Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws, that they govern us and keep us safe. They are also used for restorative practice to support the teaching of self-regulation and impact on others.
Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices and work independently. We promote freedom of choice and the right to express views and beliefs, whilst being respectful to others. We ensure that we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make informed choices safely. In lessons, we encourage children to select tasks that will challenge them, giving them more freedom to determine their own learning. We offer a range of clubs which pupils have the freedom to choose from, based on their interests. Through our Online Safety curriculum, we educate children on their rights and personal freedoms as well as supporting them in recognising how to exercise these freedoms safely.
Our school value of ‘Be You’ also encompasses the importance of individuality and how this makes us all unique and special.
Respect is one of the core rules of our school and underpins our work every day, starting with self-respect and covering respect for family, friends, other groups, the world and its people and the environment. The pupils know and understand that showing respect to everyone, whatever differences we may have, is an expectation. Through our curriculum and assemblies, we ensure that pupils understand the importance of mutual respect.
Ghost Hill is a school which is not culturally diverse. Promoting diversity is therefore central to gaining knowledge and understanding of different faiths and religions. Through R.E, PSHE, RSE, SMSC and our weekly assemblies, we strive to teach and demonstrate tolerance of other faiths and beliefs. We celebrate cultural differences across a range of subjects. The children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths. Members of different faiths and religions are encouraged to visit the school to enrich and extend understanding. In our RE curriculum we study four different religions instead of the two suggested by the Norfolk offer. This is an example of how we seek to widen our children’s understanding of different faiths.