Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC (Spiritual Moral Social Cultural Education) at Jack Hunt School. 

The Department for Education states that there is a 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,
• mutual respect
• tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”

We prepare students for the life in modern Britain because values such as democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths or beliefs (or none) are embedded within the values, ethos, culture, daily life and curriculum at Jack Hunt School.

The school’s own values are:

• The uniqueness of each individual.
• Respect for self, others, school expectations, property and the environment.
• Self-discipline
• Respect for religious and cultural diversity (being different, belonging together)
• Equality of opportunity
• Loyalty, trust, honesty.
• Commitment, hard work, high aspiration and achievement.
• Recognition and celebration of success.
• Individual responsibility and citizenship.

In addition, as part of our Olympic Legacy work as a member of the Jack Hunt Community Learning Trust, the school has also adopted the Olympic and Paralympic values of:

• Respect – fair play; knowing one’s own limits; and taking care of one’s health and the environment
• Excellence – how to give the best of oneself, on the field of play or in life; taking part; and progressing according to one’s own objectives
• Friendship – how, through sport, to understand each other despite any differences
• Determination – the drive and motivation to overcome both physical and mental barriers in order to achieve your goals.
• Courage – having the self-belief and confidence to overcome adversity and face difficulty.
• Equality – showing respect and humility towards all those around you in the spirit of fair play.
• Inspiration – to be motivated by the achievements and actions of others and to be a positive example to others.

At Jack Hunt School these values, including British Values are taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional Education (PSHE) and Citizenship which make up part of the PDE programme which is delivered to all year groups from Year 7 to Year 13; Religious Education (RE) in KS3 and KS4; Philosophy and Ethics in KS5, General Studies in the 6th form and the Social Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) including the 4Rs of Resilience, Resourcefulness, Reflectiveness and Reciprocity, which is delivered in Tutor time to all students and taught by 84 members of staff. They are also included in other subject areas’ schemes of work and used as the basis of the Thought For the Day and the Assembly programme. These values can also be physically seen around the school through the displays, motivational posters and ‘thunks’ and our wall wraps.

Actively promoting these values, including British Values, also means challenging students, staff, parents or visitors should they express opinions that are prejudiced, discriminatory, racist, homophobic/anti LGBT, or contrary to fundamental British Values, including any form of extremist views. Such incidents are recorded through Protected Characteristics reports and appropriate action is taken.

Democracy

Democracy is taught through the curriculum and is part of the way in which the school operates.

• Students have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our Student Council, and the members of the Student Council are elected through a democratic process of student votes.
• There are student interview panels for all Middle and Senior Leadership posts in the school and their feedback plays an important part in the decision making.
• Members of the Head Prefect Team shortlist and sit on the interview panel for the next year’s Head Prefect Team.
• The Head Prefect Team meets half termly with the Headteacher and take on important roles for the school.
• The Senior Prefects work with the Head of 6th Form to shortlist and select the next year’s Senior Prefects.
• Students apply for the roles of House Leaders and Sports Leaders for their Houses.
• When the House system was introduced in 2008 all the students were given the opportunity to vote for the names they wanted the House to be. They choose the elements which we linked to names of people who have changed the world.
• The Open Eyes Group has a scheduled termly meeting with the Assistant Headteacher, Business Manager and SENCO where they are able to raise issues which are acted upon.
• Students have the opportunity every year to participate in ‘Take Over Day’ where every Senior and Middle Leadership post in the school is available for students to apply for. In addition, Headteacher posts as well as classroom teacher posts are available in all our 8 Trust Primary Schools. Furthermore, a whole range of positions are available for students in our other Trust partners: Anglian Water, Anglia Ruskin University and Peterborough City Hospital; plus Greenwoods, the school’s Solicitors; and Moore and Stephens, the school’s financial auditors.
• The Communication Leaders work with the Deputy Headteacher on Learning and Teaching in the school.
• There are Student Curriculum Leaders who work with the Curriculum Area Leaders in the school.
• A number of policies, including Behaviour for Learning and the Anti-Bullying Policy are commented on by a student panel as well as staff, parents and Governors.
• Students have been on working parties regarding uniform and food in the dining room and they will be part of a new working party on the plans for the operation of the new dining room.
• An active and well-attended Debating Society allows students to debate the issues of the day and vote on them.
• The work of the Politics Club has been showcased on Radio Cambridgeshire.
• All students have the opportunity to vote for the Youth MP for Peterborough and the Youth MP 2015-2016 was a Jack Hunt student.
• All students take part each year in the ‘Have Your Say’ Vote, where students across the country vote on the topics which the Youth MPs debate in the House of Commons.
• The local MP visits the school and takes parts in debates and visits Citizenship classes
• We held a school-wide vote to coincide with the forthcoming referendum on membership of the European Union. The students voted overwhelmingly to remain.
• We have set up ‘The Power of 12’, where each of the 14 members of the Extended Leadership Team and members of the Governing Body have a group of 12 students from Year 7-13 whom they meet every half term for feedback on ‘What it is like to be a student at Jack Hunt School’ and how the experience might be improved.

The Rule of Law

At Jack Hunt School we use the term expectations for the behaviour that is expected by all and there are a range of consequences for making the wrong decisions. The importance of, and reasons behind laws, rules and expectations, whether they are those that govern the classroom, the school, the community or the country, are consistently reinforced every school day.

• Students 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 through the citizenship part of the PDE programme. Visiting speakers help to re-inforce this message.
• All parents and students sign a Home-School agreement before joining the school which makes clear the expectations of the school, the support the school will give all students and the actions the school will take for failure to meet expectations.
• The classroom expectations are on every classroom wall and in the student planners.
• The Behaviour for Learning Policy makes it very clear what the consequences are for not meeting the school’s expectations and all students are aware of the C-system (consequences).
• No consequences, such as a day in the school’s Seclusion Unit or a Fixed Term Exclusion, occur without thorough investigation and witness statements being taken.
• The school is a Lead School for Restorative Justice, has trained other schools, and all students know that if situations have occurred that require resolution with another student or a member of staff that a ‘Restorative’ will be held. Should there be a number of students involved, then a Restorative Conference will be held. The school gives much time to this, it is embedded in the way we work and is one of the reasons we achieve outstanding community cohesion.
• The school has a ‘Restorative Events Coordinator.’
• The school has led on ‘Pledge Against Prejudice’ work.
• Any student who breaks the law by smoking drugs on the school site; distributing drugs on the school site or bringing a weapon onto the school site will be permanently excluded. This is made explicit in the school’s documentation and therefore understood by all students and parents.
• The school follows a ‘beyond the school gate’ policy and should students break the law; for example by taking part in shoplifting, then they will receive a Fixed Term Exclusion from school for this behaviour and for bringing the school into disrepute.
• The school works with the Safer Schools Programme and has a PCSO on site 4 days a week to support the students.

Individual Liberty

Within Jack Hunt School students are actively encouraged to make choices and are educated on how to make safe and law-abiding choices in the wider community; choices that do not bring harm to themselves or others.

• Students are taught to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely. This is done through our PDE programme, the SEAL programme, Thought For the Day, and the Assembly programme.
• There is specific teaching on alcohol, drugs and Sex and Relationships.
• There is a programme of e-safety teaching and the school focuses additional attention on this for both students and parents on e-safety day every year.
• Students have a range of staff they can speak to regarding any issues that are troubling them with regard to their rights and personal freedoms: their Personal Tutor, their Student Support Officer, their Head of House, one of the three members of the Child Protection team; the school nurse, a counsellor or the PCSO.
• Posters in PDE classrooms, around the school and in the Child Protection rooms make it clear that people have the right to choose their own sexuality without fear of harm; all forms of abuse including CSE; forced marriage and FGM are illegal and must be reported.
• Effective Careers Education, Independent Advice and Guidance means that students make informed choices for Year 9 options, Post-16 options including where to study at KS5 and University entrance. All Pupil Premium students are interviewed and given advice on choices for the future by an independent careers advisor.
• Our Choices Booklets (post 14 and post 16) are deliberately entitled ‘Dreams and Aspirations’ to underline the outcome of making the right choices.
• The school offers clear guidance of what is right and wrong and the Behaviour for Learning Policy makes clear the consequences for poor choices.
• The Assertive Academic Mentoring programme supports those Year 11 students who need 1 to 1 guidance on making the right choices.
• Students are rewarded for making the right choices through credits and merits, subject postcards, student of the week, Headteacher Awards, Celebration Assemblies, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Certificates, Attendance Certificates, Presentation Evening Awards and Celebration Day activities.
• The school operates an extremely wide range of lunchtime, afterschool and holiday activities and students are encouraged to make the choice to take part.
• Saturday Schools and Evening Schools are organised throughout the year for Year 11 revision and students are encouraged to make the choice to attend to improve their examination outcomes.

Mutual Respect

Mutual Respect can be seen and felt on a daily basis in the culture and ethos of our school.

• Respect for others is part of our agreed expectations in terms of behaviour in the school and students understand the consequences of not showing respect.
• Mutual respect is fundamental to Restorative Justice.
• The students know and understand that respect is to be shown to everyone and visitors always comment on how polite they find our students.
• At any interview the students of the school undertake the tour of the school with the candidates and our students are happy and confident to speak openly and freely about their experience of the school. Any Key Stage 5 or Key Stage 4 student may be asked to do this. Candidates never fail to remark on the positive way in which the students have conducted the tours and behaved towards them.
• On major school events such as Prospective Parents Evening and Presentation Evening students play a significant part in the organisation and running of the evening. Guests make a point of praising the role the students play on these occasions and their willingness to assist them.
• Students in the school run the Talking in Confidence (TIC) and Restorative and young Leaders Awards (RAYLA) groups to support other students who may be experiencing difficulties.
• To support those less fortunate at Christmas, every year since 2008 the 84 Tutor groups in the school fill and decorate 84 Christmas Hampers. These hampers are then delivered to Age Concern, Axiom sheltered housing, St. Teresa’s Homeless shelter and Peterborough HIV/AIDs.
• Students organise an annual Christmas/ Eid party at school for the senior Citizens in our community. This is well attended and very much looked forward to.
• Students raise significant amounts of money throughout the year for a wide variety of charities.
• The annual ‘Big Finish’ raises over £2000 in one morning for our local Sue Ryder Hospice.
• Our Community Prefects attend the local shops at the end of every day to ensure younger students maintain the highest possible standards whilst on the way home.
• Our 200+ Sports Leaders work in our Trust primary schools, a special school and are one of the largest volunteer group of marshals for the Great eastern Run. They also organise sporting events at school for primary school students.
• The Language Leaders’ Certificate involves our Year 9 students going into Primary schools to teach students French, Spanish and Urdu and helping to run school wide language events.
• A large number of students take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme which involves volunteering in the local community.
• Our students visit the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University, on an annual basis to train prospective teachers on EAL and Deaf Awareness. The success of their training has led to other HE institutions visiting the school for the same training.

Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

We are proud of the incredibly diverse nature of our school and the tolerance that is shown for those with different faiths (or no faith) and beliefs. With over 65 different languages spoken at the school and students from around the world who represent all the major religions we are extremely successful at inclusion.

• ‘Being Different – belonging together’ is fundamental to the culture and ethos of the school. We dedicated one of our Deep Learning Days to this value
• The languages spoken in the school are used in the welcome greetings on the signage of the main gates and the entrance to the school building
• We won the Aegis White Rose Award in 2012, for our work on the Pledge against Prejudice
• In 2013 we won the Diana Award for promoting Awareness. In this case, for promoting awareness about Deafness, the school having enhanced provision for students who are Deaf.
• In 2014 we won the Diana, Anti Bullying Ambassador Award.
• We led on setting up the Unity Football team in Peterborough.
• We take part annually in the ‘Show Racism the Red card’ events.
• We arrange an annual visits from Holocaust survivors; Ziggy Shipper being a regular visitor to the school.
• Every year 2 members of our 6th Form visit Auschwitz-Birkenau with the Holocaust Educational Trust.
• We celebrate ‘European Day of Languages’ as a whole school.
• We dedicate another day to celebrate the culture, food, dress and customs of students who have joined the school from around the world or whose heritage is not British.
• We have hosted Islamic Art Exhibitions for the school and the community.
• We have hosted Bhangra Night and Tandoori Nights for all students and members of the community.
• The Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher have visited local Mosques and the Headteacher is often asked to speak on those occasions.
• We currently hold the International School Award and have done so for many years.
• We host the Chinese, Latvian and Lithuanian Schools at Jack Hunt School every weekend. We also offer lessons in the English Language to the community.
• We hosted celebrations for the Chinese New Year.
• We are linked with 7 schools in Shanghai and our annual visit to China is now in its 7th year. Our link to China also now includes a gap year at Nanjing University. When students visit annually from Shanghai they visit our Trust Primary schools as well as Jack Hunt School.
• We also offer students residential educational visits to Spain, France, Belgium and Italy.