Embedding the British Values in Practice
As we all know childcare settings are now required to actively promote British Values; during an Ofsted inspections settings will be judged on how they are embedding this into everyday practice. Many people were very quick to jump to the conclusion it was about promoting pictures of Big Ben and features of London, when it fact, that wasn’t and isn’t the case. The word British has caused the confusion, when it fact, it should be referred to as Human Values. For those working in childcare settings, including childminders look at what is meant by values and list these to refer to.
If nurseries carry on actively promoting British Values as being all about Big Ben and the Queen then when Ofsted carries out an inspection it will be too late to rectify. It’s not a bad thing to teach the children about Big Ben and the Queen etc but it’s about getting the interpretation of the British Values right first and promoting these in the correct way.
The British Values are about teaching children about respect, sharing, tolerance and caring. These values are not new as they should already be actively promoted through the EYFS area personal, social and emotional development. This is where many nurseries should look what the values are and see how they are already promoting them, this will cause fewer managers to panic and think they are not actively promoting the British values, when it fact, they already are.
Once nurseries realise how they are already promoting these values, it is then wise to find ways of showing this to Ofsted.
Having a fuller understanding of the British Values will provide managers and practitioners will a clearer picture of how to promote these within the setting.
How the government defined the British values are as followed;
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty and mutual respect
- Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
For many the way in which these have been defined can again be confusing, it is best to look at each one and break this down to what it actually means in practice. Once this has been done many will realise that is what you are doing already.
Updating policies to reflect British Values
As well as making sure these values are being actively promoted in practice; they should also be documented in policies and procedures. It is important that everyone is aware of how these are being delivered across the settings. Many settings have either added a section about British values to existing policies or wrote a stand-alone policy on British Values, as long as it is stated somewhere it shouldn’t matter where it is written.
It is best practice to include in your policy how these values are embedded in your practice as this is what Ofsted will be looking for during an inspection and if managers can demonstrate their knowledge on how this are being embedded in practice this will contribute to the grade in the leadership and management section.
When updating and evaluating policies and procedures always consult the team during this process as they are the ones working directly with the children.
As we already know British Values are not something new, managers and practitioners should remember this and be confident in knowing that they are already promoting the values. The confusion for many is the word British, however if you just remember that it is about actively promoting Human Values.