Values

Promoting Values at The Hayes Primary School

The DfE have 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.”
 

At The Hayes, our ethos revolves around our Core Values which has the acronym of RESPECT: Responsibility, Empathy, Self-Belief, Empathy, Co-operation and Tolerance. These are taught through all we do at school and particularly during assemblies and times when we are all together and can learn from each other.

The Core Values determined by the DfE are:

Democracy: Democracy is embedded within our school. Our pupils are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of all to have their opinions and voices heard. Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our School Council, Pupil Advocates, class debates and questionnaires.  The elections of our School Council soon to be elected RRS Warrior members are based solely on pupil votes and our Pupil Advocate positions, although the final decision is left with the Senior Leadership Team, our children take the first votes and write the references. Additionally, our School Council voted to have water fountains which are currently in our KS2 area.These improvements to the school and rewards have happened, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action.

The Rule of Law: The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour, through school assemblies and PSHE. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Our Charters and CALM Code are deeply embedded every day and are clearly understood by all. They are necessary to ensure that every child is able to learn in a safe environment.  Visits from authorities such as the Police; Fire Service; local MPs etc. are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty: Within school, 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 young pupils to make choices safety, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety, RRS assemblies and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of challenge of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities; pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect: Respect is one of the core values at The Hayes and embedded in our school ethos; we are aiming to be accredited with Recognition of Commitment, the first stage of UNICEF's Rights Respecting award at the end of this academic year. Additionally, our behaviour policy revolves around Core Values such as ‘Respect’, and pupils have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how it is shown. RRS displays around the school promote respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy. Our children know and understand respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small. The core value of Respect at The Hayes underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs: Our core value of Respect ensures tolerance of those who have different faiths and beliefs. The Hayes enhances children’s understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society with different faiths and beliefs through RE; PSHE; assemblies, visits to other schools in different settings; visiting places of worship and enjoying a depth of learning during themed weeks. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.

Rights Respecting is becoming embedded within our ethos and Curriculum. Our assemblies follow and soon, our planning follow a two year cycle which consists of 12 key values which we believe are important for the children to learn about. These are linked to a variety of situations which affect themselves in school, at home, in their communities and worldwide. They give the children the opportunity to develop their knowledge of how they can make a difference to others and how everyone is entitled to their rights, explaining how this impacts on our lives.

Remembrance Day at The Hayes

Every November, on the Friday nearest to the 11th, The Hayes remembers. The Hayes remembers the servicemen and women who died in the two World Wars and all those involved in 105 years of conflict. Our Fallen Heroes, who sacrificed their future for our freedom.

1914 is an important year. It is important not just in Britain, but across the world. 1914 is remembered in France and Germany, Italy and Austria, Russia, Turkey and India. It is remembered in Africa and the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand and in the United States and Canada too. 1914 is the year that World War One began. A hundred years have passed since 1914. But we still remember that war. Today, we call it World War One. We stop. We think. We take time out of our lives and bring to mind those people who fought and suffered and died in a terrible war a hundred years ago. We also remember the people caught up in World War Two and other wars that have happened since World War Two ended in 1945.

'Remembrance' is not a word we use every day. In everyday life, we say we 'remember' something like a friend's birthday. Things around us help us to remember people or places. 'Remembrance' is something that can be shared. That is why many people wear poppies as November the eleventh draws near. The poppy is a sign of remembrance. It shows we have not forgotten what happened long ago, to people in our own and other people's families.

November is the eleventh month of the year and it was at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month that World War One ended back in 1918. At eleven o'clock on a Monday morning the guns fell silent. Every year, Remembrance Day reminds us of this moment. At eleven o'clock on Remembrance Day there is a two-minute silence. Ours is not a silent world. There is noise all around us. So silence is special. Silence is good for remembering. It helps us to stop thinking about what is going on right now, or what we are going to do next. Silence gives us time to reflect.

Remembrance Day 

Anne Frank Trust UK

Changing Attitudes
At the end of October, Ros, from Anne Frank Trust UK worked with our two Year 6 classes to deliver an educational programme, using Anne Frank’s life and diary as a starting point to empower our children with the knowledge, skills and confidence to challenge all forms of prejudice and discrimination.

In an age-appropriate way, Ros taught our children about Anne Frank’s life, while also raising awareness of contemporary issues of prejudice and discrimination by relating Anne’s story to modern scenarios. Prejudice and discrimination harms individuals, communities and society. Through education, young people can be made more aware of what constitutes prejudice and discrimination and can equip themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge to challenge attitudes and actions.

The workshops delivered were interactive and impactful and enabled eight ambassadors from Year 6 to take leadership roles and to design a short play to amplify Anne’s message of social justice and equality. This poignant play was performed in an assembly to our children (Year 1-Year 6), staff and a governor by our young flag-bearers, their voices heard; pushing forward the message that Anne could take no further than the pages of her dairy: we are all equal.

The Anne Frank Trust is a driving force in educating young people about prejudice and discrimination. We must all do our part to continue to encourage more challenging conversations which get to the heart of these divisions in our society and not be afraid to do so. During the time Ros was at The Hayes, we were able to get our young children to open up the debate, to question how they see others in the world around them.

“Even though I knew about Anne before, I got a better understanding of her life and how she was abused in many ways. She shouldn’t have had to have experienced what she went through and I feel very sorry for her and her family because of the way she had been treated- and because of her religion.” (Gracie, Y6)

“Prejudice and discrimination is wrong, and Anne Frank Trust UK and her diary has helped us all to understand that in a very informative way. I am shocked by how she was treated, it has really changed my views on stereotyping people for their religion”. (Josiah, Y6)

“I think it has taught me to think about others more because prejudice and discrimination is not fair. It is not fair to judge people for what they believe in or stand for. The Franks did not deserve the treatment they got because of their religion. Now, if I heard someone being cruel about someone’s religion, I would go over to them and tell them to stop – they would not like it if someone did it to them’. (Imogen, Y6).
 

“I was very lucky to work with Ros because it gave me a better understanding of how Jews were treated in the war. Also it made me think about ‘when I say it isn’t fair’ that there are people in the world that do not have as much as me. I am really lucky’ (Bella, Y6).
 

“When we doing the play, I felt really blessed to be chosen to be an Ambassador. It gave me more of an understanding that not everyone is as fortunate as me” (Henry, Y6).
 

“Thanks to the workshop, I now know how people can get treated because of their belief and if I see this, I will always try to stop it” (Ronnie, Y6).
 

“I didn’t know that the Franks were hiding in their attic for three years. They were hungry and also did not have any light. I feel bad for them because it is not fair how they were treated. If I heard anyone being cruel about someone’s belief, I would try to tell them that they are being cruel, to think before they speak because it could affect someone really badly” (Joel, Y6).