British Values

British Values at St John Vianney School

St John Vianney is the Diocese of Salford’s SEND provision. We are a Catholic non- maintained School which delivers its mission through reflecting the Gospel values and Teachings of Jesus Christ. We aim as a School to provide an excellent education for children and young people attending; firmly within the teachings and embracing fully the Catholic faith.

As a result, through its curriculum, wider enrichment programme and in teaching and learning activities the school fully promotes Christian and British values. By doing so, we ensure that all learners understand the values that have traditionally underpinned British society.

We aim to prepare pupils for life in the United Kingdom, where the population has an increasingly rich diversity of backgrounds, origins, beliefs and cultures. We do this by promoting the values on which our society has been built. By teaching pupils these values we support all in our school community to be positive and active citizens, embracing all opportunities to contribute well.

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.”

Our most recent Ofsted inspection (September 2017) and our most recent Section 48 Inspection (July 2019) reflected positively on the School’s work in the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is underpinned by the school’s Christian ethos. The reports reflected upon the excellent opportunities for pupils to learn about other faiths and to reflect on their relationships with others. We believe the impact of this is seen in pupils’ respect for themselves and others within the SJV community and in the way pupils develop a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities.

Democracy

We encourage all our children to get involved with the running of their school and provide them with lots of opportunities to show how they can influence decision making e.g. School Council activities, fundraising events and our well represented Chaplaincy Team.
Pupil Voice questionnaires are regularly distributed and analysed, providing feedback to ensure the SLT can act upon any feedback given to further improve the school.
Reflection and group activities are often shaped by the voice of the group and staff respond appropriately to learner requests eg in Choice Time.
Workshops, training activities, including ‘Riding the Rapids’, parental surveys, governance selection procedures, an open door policy etc. encourages parents to participate in decision making within St John Vianney School.

The Rule of Law

Each year class help establish their “class rules” and this supports their understanding of the need for rules and boundaries. These rules are revisited regularly and updated to respond to the needs of each class group.
School rules are applied equally to everyone and pupils understand that they provide us with protection and help us to take responsibility for our actions. The rules also help all understand that there are consequences for those actions.
A clear school behaviour policy ensures expectations are understood and applied consistently. Children understand their rights and their responsibilities for the choices they make.
We organise visits from a range of external services including the police service, safeguarding partners and agencies to reinforce the message of right and wrong. Our work with ‘Global Policing’ supports the GDPR requirements of the school and the organisation support wider responsibilities in school through workshops and specific support opportunities.

Individual Liberty

SJV provides a safe and supportive environment, where we encourage children to be independent in their learning. Opportunities including emotional wellbeing activities and ‘building learning power’ lessons are provided for children to nurture resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance. Developing independence is specific opportunity provided within each Key Stage curriculum- eg the SJV 50
Through our Mission Statement and Catholic ethos we teach respect for others and the right of each child to be treated with respect by others. Children understand bullying of any kind is not acceptable and will be tackled when it occurs.
At SJV we provide regular guidance on how to make safe choices through e.g. staying safe on line activities and assemblies, anti-bullying week, swimming tuition, whole school worship activities, our PSHE Curriculum and through the teaching of Religious Education and our wider delivery of Catholic values.

Mutual Respect

Jesus’ messages, “Love one another, as I have loved you” and other weekly scripture quotations are prominent in school. Mutual respect is a key value that all children and young people understand the importance of, both in terms of their respect for others and from others.
Additional support opportunities for individual children including therapeutic intervention from our team of specialists and counselling from Caritas in Action help maximise cross curricular opportunities to promote our Catholic ethos of love, mutual respect for others and respect for the environment in which we live.
The weekly Celebration Assembly, Stars of the Week, Employee of the Week, our ‘Above and Beyond’ award scheme and the Headteacher termly awards scheme evidence the importance we place on celebrating learner success and promoting RESPECT in school.
All staff actively promoting respect for others and RESPECT is a key theme in our weekly assembly programme.
Regular fundraising and charitable activities help children to contribute to and understand their role in supporting less fortunate people in their own community and further afield. The school actively supports a range of charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Jeans for Genes, Comic Relief, CAFOD, Revive and Cornerstone.

Tolerance of those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

As a Catholic community, through the RE curriculum and the wider spiritual life of St John Vianney, children are regularly reminded of their place in a culturally diverse society.
We actively celebrate diversity and equality with children taking part in assemblies and lessons which promote tolerance and understanding eg Holocaust Memorial Day.
Our RE Curriculum provides pupils with a deep understanding of their own faith as well as awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities as a basis for understanding and respecting them.
Our class and whole school worship and liturgical programme, both teacher and child led, promotes the diversity of society and the rights of each person to be treated equally regardless of their faith or beliefs. Opportunities for pupils from other faith denominations to practice their faith within the school day are fully supported.