British values – the rule of law

Whilst British values can seem a difficult topic to tackle at times, it’s essential that you do cover this content with your class. Any Ofsted inspector worth their salt will want you and your colleagues to explain how you promote British values in your school. The articles in this series are a great way to demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about. And more importantly, they’re the perfect way to introduce the children in your care to the four core pillars of British values:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty and freedom for all
• Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

We’ve already run the first article in this series, on democracy . You can check it out here . In the meantime, this article will focus on the second of these core themes – ‘the rule of law’. The notes in this article aim to explain why it is important for children to be taught these principles from an early age and suggests activities and discussion starters to support you in implementing its teaching into your daily routines.

The DfE has advised that ‘British values and principles’ are already embedded in the Primary curriculum. They have also issued guidance notes relating to how teachers can implement this policy.

Ofsted have suggested that having the odd cultural artefact, poster or books containing subliminal messages will not be sufficient evidence to prove you are teaching the values. They will assess your setting’s effectiveness in teaching this subject through children’s SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural) development, the curriculum and school leadership. There have been references indicating that education and childcare settings could be at risk of being downgraded or losing their funding if they cannot show Ofsted inspectors that they are implementing this new legislation…so how can you ‘prove it’?

Let’s take a look at this in relation to the ‘rule of law’ strand of British values.