British Values

At the beginning of each year children affirm the school’s expectations and the rights and responsibilities associated with these. Every child and staff member takes responsibility for instilling these values into the school community. The children and staff actively engage with each other to create harmonious learning environments where everyone is responsible for the high expectations through our ‘Halsnead Way’.

Democracy is taught during assemblies and class-based PSHE sessions. Children regularly get opportunities to express their views in school through Pupil Voice interviews and questionnaires. 

Every half-term, children take part in a democratic process where they vote for 2 of their classmates to receive our Halsnead Values Award for the half-term. They focus on who has shown our half term value behaviours consistently. 

The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, is consistently reinforced at Halsnead.

Pupils are taught from an early age the rules of the school through our Classroom and Playground rules and our six school values. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves, and the consequences when laws are broken. Through our whole school approach, we enable children to develop the language and strategies to solve conflict and to right wrongs. 

At Halsnead, 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 young pupils to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand, and exercise their rights and personal freedoms. They are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety and PSHE lessons.

From the very start of their school life children are encouraged to challenge themselves by giving them ownership of their own learning. Children have next steps shared with them, whether verbally or with feedback in books, so that they know exactly what they can do to progress. Children are excited to respond and to forward their own learning and to achieve their goals.

Respect and independence are key values that permeate all aspects of school life at Halsnead. They are fundamental to the way we support and care for each other, for the community and for the environment.

At Halsnead, we value the close, positive relationships between all adults and children, and see this as being key to enabling all children to access their learning, in a welcoming and safe environment. Assemblies regularly cover the theme of ‘respect’, and pupils have been part of discussions related to what this means and how we show it. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect.

This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by educating them and giving them opportunities to experience different faiths and beliefs, be they similar or different to their own.