British Values

As part of the Outwood Family, Outwood Academy Portland promotes 'British Values' through its spiritual, moral, social and cultural education which permeates through our curriculum and supports the development of the 'whole child'.

We recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all staff and provide a model of behaviour for our students.

We are committed to educating students with regard to their engagement and acceptance with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

We aim to support our students in developing and demonstrating skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

'British Values' have been identified as:

The principle of democracy is consistently reinforced, with the democratic process being employed for important decisions within each school community, for instance, elections being held for Student Voice president and vice-presidents.

The principles of democracy are explored in History and Religious Studies as well as in tutor groups and assemblies.

Student Voice ensures that our students exercise their democratic rights and feel part of big decisions within our academies. All tutor groups have representatives as a key link to Student Voice ambassadors.

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern classrooms, schools, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout the school day, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies.

Students learn the values and reasons behind the laws that govern and protect us. They learn about the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken.

Our students learn to manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. Our staff are committed to providing a consistent and predictable environment within the academy and beyond. An environment of this type enables students to feel safe and secure; this in turn, promotes the optimum conditions for learning to take place.

We encourage students to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each student to become as independent as possible and we have a strong culture of giving time and energy to voluntary work and charity fundraising.

The Outwood Family invests a great deal of time in creating a positive culture, so that children are in a safe environment where choices and freedoms are encouraged.

We offer a range of enrichment activities which students have the freedom to choose from, based on their interests.

Mutual respect is at the core of life within the academy. Students learn to treat each other and staff with great respect and this is evident when walking around our site and within the classrooms.

We value the importance of facilitating opportunities to be part of the community as the students, families and staff have much to offer in the development of community cohesion.

As a member of the Outwood Family, we are proud to serve multi-faith communities where each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected. Our assemblies help all students to find out about themselves and others; linking their lives to the communities in which they belong. We place great emphasis on providing opportunities to participate in events and celebrations to broaden all students' experiences and awareness of others.

We believe that tolerance of different faiths and beliefs are best gained through knowledge and understanding. Through our curriculum as well as the routines of daily life within the academy, we strive to not only learn about but also to demonstrate tolerance and help children to become knowledgeable and understanding citizens who can build a better Britain for the future.

We believe and actively support the view that all students should be protected from radicalisation and extremism. Our approach to this is in line with the Government's CONTEST (the counter terrorist strategy) and PREVENT (stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism) strategies.

Radicalisation is defined as "a process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly extreme political, social or religious ideals and aspirations that (1) reject or undermine the status quo or (2) reject and/or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of freedom of choice."

Extremism is defined as "Vocal, or active opposition to fundamental British Values including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs."

Our 100% commitment to safeguarding student welfare means we are vigilant to monitoring vulnerability to radicalisation including:

  • Family tensions
  • Sense of isolation
  • Migration
  • Distance from cultural heritage
  • Experience of racism or discrimination
  • Feeling of failure
Educate Against Hate

Messages of hate can take many forms. Extremist groups use them to recruit young people. Parents can find information to aid understanding the issues and protect their children via the website: educateagainsthate.com