Promoting British Values

British Values here at Cliff Park Ormiston Academy

At Cliff Park Ormiston Academy our British Values of Tolerance, Democracy, Mutual Respect, Rule of Law and Individual Liberty are consolidated and enhanced by the explicit teaching of our academies core values, CARE (Community, Aspiration, Resilience and Excellence).

A non-exhaustive summary of how we teach, develop and demonstrate these values are outlined below:

Democracy

In addition to our provision under the National Curriculum for Citizenship Education we enrich our offering further:

Students have the opportunity to have their voices heard both on an academy and trust-wide level. Students will have the chance to develop the skills to become leaders of now, and the future through participation in our student leadership programme, and student council, which feeds into the OAT wide regional and national student voice initiatives. Elected students will have the chance to run campaigns, and join the National Student Voice Council to work for our community‘s best interests and influence trust-wide decision making and developments.

Pupil Perception activities such as questionnaires and interviews are also undertaken regularly as part of our ongoing Quality Assurance Framework to demonstrate our aspiration to be the best we can possibly be.

The views of parents and other stakeholders are regularly sought through a variety of questionnaires and meetings. For example, we have an active Extended Leadership Board, Staff Forums and a number of Parent Forums/questionnaires take place throughout the academic year.

The Rule of Law

The importance of the rule of law are regularly reinforced across the Academy. As well as the Academy’s Behaviour Pathway and regular assemblies, students are taught the value of our legal system as part of their PSHE/Citizenship Education. This includes a knowledge and understanding of the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from external organisations, such as the Police, local charitable organisations and support networks are regular occurrences in the Academy and strengthen this message.

Individual Liberty

The basis of our core values and dedication to developing character is to equip students with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions and bring about a strong sense of self-efficacy. In short, to be able to exercise our right to individual liberty, in a responsible and compassionate manner.

Through the curriculum students learn to understand the meaning and importance of liberty. For example, in RE and PSHE lessons they learn about religious freedoms, freedom of speech and expression within Great Britain, in History they learn about the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery. Exhibiting where people have shown resilience and determination in the face of adversity to bring about positive change.

A common misunderstanding of individual liberty is that it is focussed solely on the rights of an individual to do and say as they wish, but it goes further in protecting the rights of individuals to feel safe and brings responsibility on us to exercise our rights respectfully.

The Academy has an inclusive philosophy with pupil and parent questionnaires confirming that the overwhelming majority feel safe and secure. Bullying in any form is condemned, with regular opportunities taken to reinforce this message and remind students how to stay safe. Indeed, whilst pupils are encouraged to know and understand their rights, they are also encouraged to recognise their responsibilities and to consider how they do both safely.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

The Academy actively promotes mutual respect and tolerance through our core value of community. This is reiterated through our behaviour pathway, dedication to teaching character and through our curriculum which is sensitive to the diverse community in which we serve and pays homage to the heritage on which Great Yarmouth was built through our maritime curriculum.

Cliff Park Ormiston Academy demands excellence from everyone, everyday, in all that we do.