British Values
St. Cecilia's Junior School values the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all pupils and families and we undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate these. We are fully committed to preparing our children for life in modern Britain promoting fundamental British values.
Promoting the fundamental British Values
As responsible citizens of Britain we teach our children to:
- Respect and obey the law.
- Respect the rights of others, including their right to their own opinions.
- Treat others with fairness.
- Look after yourself and your family.
- Look after the area in which you live and the environment.
- Support and understand the democratic process.
At St. Cecilia’s Junior School we believe that our Catholic identity, Mission Statement and school behaviour policy underpin British values.
The Rule Of Law
All staff members have high expectations of the children in our school. The importance of laws and rules are consistently reinforced in the classroom, as well as through school assemblies. Pupils are taught to understand the need for laws to ensure individual protection, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences that ensue when laws are broken. Pupils follow our positive behaviour policy and clearly understand the rewards and sanctions that are used. Assemblies and discussions in class focus on making the right choices and we employ a Restorative Justice approach to resolving any conflict in a spirit of reconciliation.
Individual liberty
Developing the self-confidence and self-esteem of our pupils is a core vision for our school and this is supported by our commitment to providing a wide range of after school clubs which also enable our pupils to develop their talents, their sense of community, their understanding of team work and fair play, and to graduate from Children’s University. Our pupils are encouraged to be independent learners, making choices, within a safe and supportive environment. Pupils are encouraged to understand their personal freedoms and are taught how to use these rights to best effect. Our pupils eagerly support charities, whether local, national or global. All of our staff and children are actively involved in regularly supporting fundraising campaigns locally and further afield year round. They are taught consideration for others through our Religious Education curriculum, Collective Worship and our enriching curriculum. E-safety lessons enable the children to make choices in a safe manner.
Mutual Respect:
Our Christian values of respect, friendship, forgiveness, fairness, endurance and compassion permeate all areas of school life. This engenders a climate within which pupils feel safe and secure and facilitates the fulfilment of their potential. All staff demonstrate respect to everyone with whom they come into contact. They consistently model and promote the behaviours and attitudes that are the foundation of positive relationships. The strong school ethos encourages everyone to consider others and to support each other and to celebrate the worth and individuality of every member of the school community. Discussions in class and during whole school assemblies as well during Collective Worship, demonstrate that the children show respect and reverence to all other individuals. All of our children, regardless of faith or background participate actively in worship. The politeness of our children and calm ethos of our inclusive school clearly demonstrate the respectfulness of our pupils to each other and to staff members.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:
We have recently become a partner school for the Global Learning Programme which is a government-funded programme. the GLP aims to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and values they need to make a positive contribution to a globalised world.
St. Cecilia’s Junior School is a friendly and welcoming place; our school philosophy is centred around our faith and belief in the Gospel values, this outlook permeates all aspects of school life. We warmly welcome children and families to join our fully inclusive community regardless of faith or culture to make our school a place where we all live, love and learn together. We are proud of the positive relationships we have with our school community and beyond.
We actively promote acceptance of diversity of society and the right for each person to be respected and valued equally regardless of ability, gender, faith, heritage or race. Throughout the year we teach units of work on Judaism and Islam as part of our Religious Education scheme of work. This work is also embedded in the many other curriculum areas which are studied throughout the year. We also often use opportunities such as the Olympics, The Paralympics, the football World Cup, the Commonwealth Games or Chinese New Year to study other cultures.
We are proud of the inclusive nature of our school and of our children’s acceptance and respect of difference.
Democracy:
Democracy thrives within our school. Pupil voice, as well as parent/carer voice, plays a central part in driving school improvement. Pupils regularly have opportunities to have their voices heard through our School Council and Pupil questionnaires. Our school behaviour policy involves rewards which the pupils have contributed to deciding. The School Council meet regularly and take part in decision making on a range of topics.
We promote the fundamental British values through our teaching of Collective Worship, Religious Education, assemblies and our PSHE. programmes
Our topics and themes also promote British values through:
- Ensuring that are school rules and expectations are clear and fair
- Daily acts of Collective Worship (of varying themes)
- The 'Explore' section of each topic in our 'Come and See' programme
- Whole school poppy collection in late October/early November
- Whole school Anti Bullying focus weeks
- Special assemblies half termly which focus on themes which promoting British values.
- Specific teaching, as part of our school curriculum
- Half termly fundraising for a number of charitable organisations, including: CAFOD, Children in Need, The Good Shepherd fund, local food banks, Macmillan Care and Cancer Research UK among others.
- Fieldwork opportunities and studies of similarities and differences in the world
- Celebrating differences and embracing an inclusive ethos
- Appreciating that every individual matters including those who are socially, academically, physically or emotionally disadvantaged.
- Working in positive partnership with our parents and local faith community to support vulnerable families with food parcels, school uniforms and employing a Learning Mentor and pastoral support who offer support and advice.
Our curriculum is driven by creative teachers, the secure knowledge of our children's needs and our shared vision. We believe in widening and deepening our children's learning experiences, enabling competence and mastery at all levels.
Our curriculum overviews provide details of coverage in each year group. Further information relating to individual subjects can be found in the 'Curriculum' section of the website.