British Values at Unsworth Academy

At Unsworth Academy we recognise not only the importance of allowing students to flourish academically but we also embrace our wider role in preparing them for their adult life beyond the formal examined curriculum. Part of our role in that preparation is ensuring that we promote and reinforce British values to our students.

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and considered them to be democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. At Unsworth Academy these values are reinforced in a way that permeates the school community.

The examples that follow are an indication of some of the many ways we embed British values and should be seen as an indication of our approach rather than an exhaustive list.

Democracy

At Unsworth Academy the principle of democracy is consistently reinforced, with the democratic process being employed for important decisions within the school community, for instance, elections being held for school councillors. The principle of democracy is explored in History and Religious Studies as well as in form time and assemblies. Student voice is also a part of recruitment and monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning.

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 and through school assemblies. Students are taught the values and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. In 2023 the Academy embraced a consultative process by which all stakeholders (with learners as the predominant force) designed the vision, culture and values of the organisation.

Individual liberty

Within Unsworth Academy students are actively encouraged to make independent choices knowing that they are in a safe, secure and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for students to make choices safety, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms and receive advice about how to exercise these safely, for example through our exploration of E-Safety in ICT and their form time activities.

Mutual respect

Respect is at the core of our school ethos and is modelled by students and staff alike. The school promotes respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning environments. In line with our commitment to democracy students at Unsworth Academy are always able to voice their opinions and we foster an environment where students are safe to disagree with each other. Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum from the concept of ‘fair play’ in PE to our school values which include be moral, be inclusive and be kind.

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

This is achieved through equipping students with the ability to understand their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity within the school community. We also run a number of trips abroad throughout the academic year from which our students gain valuable experience of other cultures and languages. Additionally, students are actively encouraged to share their faith and beliefs within the school. Our PSHCE curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures.