Fundamental British values
The Ofsted common inspection framework (2015) includes a section on promoting fundamental British values across all levels of education. It became part of our duty to promote fundamental British values and deliver a curriculum which includes teaching children about Britain and British values which are already implicitly embedded in the 2017 Early Years Foundation Stage.
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 also places a duty on early years providers to prevent children from being drawn into terrorism and influenced by extremism. Promoting fundamental British values enable us to reflect and value the diversity of children’s experiences and actively challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotyping.
The fundamental British values are
· Democracy
· Rule of law
· Individual liberty
· Mutual respect
· Tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs
Democracy: making decisions together
As part of the focus on self-confidence and self-awareness as cited in Personal, Social and Emotional Development:
At Rainbow Hill house we concentrate on developing the children's confidence, self-esteem and independence from the first day of their settling in period. We encourage them to trust us and know that their views count, we value each other’s views and beliefs regardless background, culture, language or gender. We also encourage them to express their feelings, talk about them throughout their development; for example when they are tired, hungry or they need help. We also promote positive behaviour by being good role models, challenging negative behaviour and explaining to the children what sharing, turn-taking and cooperation mean. The children are given opportunities to develop their curiosity and desire for exploration by providing them with a vast range of activities within and outside the setting and creating an enabling learning environment; for example taking them to the local park, wood and library. We support the children to have a positive sense of their own identity and culture by celebrating differences in people and celebrating different festivals. We teach them to respect everyone as an individual and ensure that they are listened to which build their confidence and allow them to share their ideas and opinions. It is our duty to support the children to learn boundaries and make their own choices by providing them with opportunities to make decisions individually or in groups.
Rule of law: understanding rules matter as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development
As part of the focus on managing feelings and behaviour:
As mentioned above we support the children to understand and learn boundaries and rules of the setting by challenging negative and discriminatory behaviour immediately. We also support them to understand what is acceptable and what is not. We explain to the children why their behaviour is unacceptable and what are the consequences of their actions. We also explain positive examples as well making sure we don't emphasise negative actions to intimidate the children. As practitioners, we have the knowledge to be able to analyse the children's behaviour, reframe it and find the trigger which have a negative impact on the children's behaviour. As we listen to the children and respect their opinions and decisions we allow them to take part in decision-making processes when deciding the setting's rules and boundaries. These rules are repeated regularly and in a positive, playful way ensuring that the rules apply to the children as well as adults; for example 18 months old Lea is not allowed to sit on the table, so the 29 years old room leader will not be sitting on the table either.
Individual liberty: freedom for all
As part of the focus on self-confidence & self-awareness and people & communities as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the World:
At Rainbow Hill House we have an effective key-person system in place which enables us to have a better understanding of their roles and plan and support the individual needs of the children. By having a key-person system, we are able to build and maintain a strong and friendly relationship with the parents and carers, so we are able to share all information about the children's progress and development. The children are supported to develop a positive sense of themselves. We provide opportunities for children to develop their self-esteem and increase their confidence in their own abilities, for example through allowing children to take risks on an obstacle course, mixing colours, talking about their experiences and learning. We ensure that the children have access to a wide range of resources and activities indoors as well as outdoors. We also support them to make their own choices by listening to their opinions and valuing them.
Mutual respect and tolerance: treat others as you want to be treated
As part of the focus on people & communities, managing feelings & behaviour and making relationships as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the World:
We believe that mutual respect is vital to be able to create and maintain effective partnership working with the parents. The parents are given the opportunities to contact and consult with us and they are involved in their children's learning. Promoting mutual respect means that we work together as a team respecting different views, opinions and backgrounds including different languages, cultures and beliefs and valuing diversity and individuality. The children are encouraged to know about similarities and differences between themselves and others and among families, faiths, communities, cultures and traditions and share and discuss practices, celebrations and experiences.
We are aware of negative and discriminative behaviour which are recognised and challenged in an early stage. We encourage and explain the importance of tolerant behaviours such as sharing and respecting other’s opinions. Being good role models enables the children to identify negative behaviour and it also has positive impact on their development and progress. We encourage the children to celebrate diversity by planning and carrying out activities around this topic. We also teach them about different cultures and beliefs using a vast range of resources such as books, role play and cooking activities which allow us to share stories that reflect and value the diversity of children’s experiences and provide activities that challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotyping. We celebrate many different festivals such as Chinese New Year, Black History month, Hanukkah, Eid-Al Adha etc. and sing songs in different languages.
This policy was adopted on / Reviewed on / Date for next reviewDecember 2016 / July 2017 / July 2018
Signed on behalf of the nursery:
(Faye Harris, Manageress) (Chanel Chrysostomou, Assistant Manageress)