Equal Opportunities & British Values

Equal Opportunities Statement

Equal opportunities permeate all aspects of school life, and are the responsibility of every member of the school community. We aim to ensure that our planning, teaching and learning reflects our specific commitment to equality of opportunity in all subject areas and themes in line with the National Curriculum and that planning takes account of the differing needs of pupils and their progression.

Our current equality objectives are:

To promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through all appropriate curricular opportunities, with particular reference to issues of equality and diversity.
To narrow the gap between boys' and girls' attainment at the end of KS2 (This will be achieved through high quality teaching and specific provision for pupils who are not making expected progress)
To tackle prejudice and promote understanding in relation to people with disabilities. (This will be achieved through our "In Your Shoes" week)

Review of Current Objectives

We have reviewed our whole curriculum and ensured SMSC objectives are embedded across subjects and delivered through assemblies. For example, assembly themes have focussed on promoting women in various occupations (particularly STEM), and people from ethnic minorities (e.g. the Black Farmer).
Our Whole School Values have focussed on celebrating difference and our expectation that all members of the Vale community ask themselves before they speak whether what they are about to say is "necessary, kind and true".
In 2019 the attainment gap at Age Related Expectations for Reading, Writing and Maths was only 3% points between girls and boys, with girls performing better than boys. This has improved significantly from the previous year when the gap was 12% points.
We have scheduled our "In Your Shoes " week for the Spring term 2020 to raise awareness of what it is like to live with a disability and how we can be more inclusive as a school and as individuals.

Vale School promotes the fundamental British values of:

democracy,
the rule of law,
individual liberty,
mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Through our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) Curriculum we:

enable children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
enable children to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
encourage children to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely;
enable children to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;
enable children to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures strengthening tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions;
encourage respect for other people;
encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

By the time children leave Vale School, they should have:

an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process;
an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their well-being and safety;
an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law;
an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour;
an understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination.

At Vale School we address aspects of British values through the following ways:

Democracy

School Council
Young Magistrates (Year 6)
Class opportunities to vote
Philosophy for children (Year 4)
Debating issues (verbally and in writing)

Rule of Law

Young Magistrates - Year 6
School rules - rewards and consequences
Police liaison officer
Romans - invention of laws - Year 4
Nelson Mandela - Year 2
Vikings and Law - Year 5

Respect and Tolerance

RE curriculum covers Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism
Behaviour Policy
In Your Shoes week (every 2 years)
Spanish culture
Visitors to school - eg Deacon Beverley

Liberty

Freedom of speech
Assemblies - exploring key historical figures
Use of good texts in English that address these themes

Cultural Traditions

English curriculum
Year groups linked to continents
Spanish curriculum
Celebrating events in the British calendar, eg Remembrance Day, Christmas