Active engagement in our local and wider community helps pupils to grow into responsible citizens.
St Richard Reynolds Catholic College follows equal opportunities guidance, set out in the Equality Act 2010 which guarantees that there will be no discrimination against any individual or group, regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, political or financial status, or similar. St Richard Reynolds Catholic College is committed to preparing pupils for their adult life beyond our College and that they are actively engaging with, and promoting, British values.
The Government emphasises that schools are required to ensure that key ‘British Values’ are taught in all UK schools. The government set out the five British Values as:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
How do we specifically promote ‘British Values’ at our school?
St Richard Reynolds aims to ensure all students are loved, listened to, challenged and inspired, and as such, we seek to promote ‘British Values’ in our policies and practice. Our activities, and the way we manage learning and behaviour, clearly reflect ‘British Values’.
We promote these values in the following ways:
Pupils grow in knowledge and understanding of democracy by:
- Providing pupils with a broad general knowledge of, and promoting respect for, public institutions and services by discussing these whenever appropriate in curriculum work.
- Teaching pupils how they can influence decision making through the democratic process e.g. in our College Parliament work and College-wide elections.
- Encouraging pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensuring they are listened to in school e.g. in our College Parliament, Chaplaincy team, pupil contribution in Education Health Care Plan process and trips such Primary Pupil Parliament elections run by the Local Authority.
- Including in the curriculum information on the advantages and disadvantages of democracy and how it works in Britain e.g. when considering periods of history when democracy was not as fully developed as it is now.
- Holding debating sessions as part of the curriculum so pupils can discuss and debate important topics, such as the voting age and taxation.
- Actively encouraging pupils to express their views through a variety of lessons and topics, and providing opportunities to present work and opinions.
Pupils grow in knowledge and understanding of The Rule of Law by:
- Learning about and following the College Code of Conduct.
- Learning about aspects of the law and how it applies to young people in PSHE.
- Encouraging pupils to reflect on their moral choices and to take responsibility for the consequences.
- Learning about the need for rules in RE lessons.
- Reflecting within our RE lessons on our mission statement and the importance of working together to ensure every member of our community is loved, listened to, challenged and inspired.
- Helping pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals.
- Visits from the Safer School Police Officer to contribute to assemblies and aspects of the Curriculum.
Pupils grow in knowledge and understanding of Individual Liberty by:
- Reflecting on their own experiences of freedom and learning about God’s gift of free will in RE lessons.
- Encouraging pupils to be independent learners who make choices about how they learn.
- Giving pupils opportunities to make choices which affect their lives.
- Supporting pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence e.g. through all areas of teaching and learning in school and encouraging them to become good and valued citizens.
- Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their behaviours, as well as knowing their rights. Encouraging them to demonstrate the Catholic Social Teaching Principles through their thoughts, words and actions.
- Challenging stereotypes e.g. through PSHE curriculum and assemblies.
- Implementing a strong anti-bullying culture, as promoted in our policies for Anti-bullying, Anti-discrimination and Behaviour Regulation.
- Encouraging pupils to apply for positions in the Chaplaincy team, the Primary Parliament or an Ambassador role in Year 6.
- Pupils can stand for election to the College Parliament and are democratically elected.
- Supporting others by participating in a wide variety of charitable fundraising events such as the Salvation Army Winter Appeal, Harvest Cafod Family Fast day or our Advent/ Lenten Appeals.
Pupils grow in knowledge and understanding of mutual respect by:
- Engaging in a variety of charity work
- Basing all actions on an ethic of love of self and our neighbours near and far.
- Emphasising in RE and PSHE lessons that every person is unique and “created in the image of God”.
- Learning about issues such as sexism, racism and homophobia in RE and PSHE.
- Learning music and texts from a variety of cultures.
- Learning about other faiths and cultures as part of our RE Curriculum.
- Having a strong anti-bullying ethos.
- Challenging prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour e.g. an anti-discrimination culture has been developed in consultation with pupils and parents. Identification of discrimination and promotion of equal opportunities regardless of sexual orientation, race or gender.
- Discussing differences between people, such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality and differences of family situations through our PSHE and broader curriculum work and through visitors sharing their experiences.
Pupils grow in knowledge and understanding of Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs by:
- Learning about different religions in RE including Sikhism, Judaism and Islam and respective visits and discussions had before, at and after visiting a local Church, Synagogue and Mosque
- Learning about moral issues from a range of different perspectives, including non-religious views, in RE
- Learning about Jesus’s example of respect for those of other faiths e.g. Good Samaritan.
- Visiting places of worship and guest speakers from different faiths.
- Enrichment weeks e.g. learning about different cultures and inviting parents in to teach the children about their culture and different traditions.
The College seeks to collaborate with all schools in the borough and to form productive partnerships with local businesses, religious groups, clubs and charities.