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In the Early Years, children are like sponges — they soak up everything, good and bad. That’s why it’s so important to be intentional about what we teach them both directly and indirectly.
Children are learning quickly, so it's the perfect time to teach them important values. These values will help them become good members of society in the future. This is why it’s beneficial to begin promoting British values already in the Early Years.
It might seem odd to focus on this with young children, but there’s a good reason for it. In this article, we’ll dive into those reasons and also, everything your setting needs to know about British values according to the EYFS.
British values are part of the Prevent Duty guidance that all childcare providers and Early Years settings need to follow. The Prevent Duty is about stopping children from being drawn into terrorism, where terrorism is defined as opposing British values. So, promoting and encouraging these values in your setting is a key part of the Prevent strategy.
Ofsted's Education Inspection Framework (EIF), states that inspectors will make a judgement on how settings are ‘developing learners’ understanding of fundamental British values’.
In the Early Years Inspection Handbook, an ‘inadequate’ grading in leadership and management may be given because "Leaders do not tackle instances of discrimination. Equality, diversity and British values are not actively promoted in practice."
It's particularly important you can show how you support the promotion of British values to your local authority, as your funding depends on it. The Prevent Duty guidance states:
"Early education funding regulations in England have been amended to ensure that providers who fail to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs do not receive funding from local authorities for the free Early Years entitlement."
Before we dive into that let’s remind ourselves of the EYFS principles in order to understand their
Four guiding principles that should shape practice in the Early years. These are:
Now, let’s go into the specific British values you should be promoting in your setting according to the EYFS.
Here are 4 British values to focus on promoting in your setting.
Democracy is where we make decisions together. Like many of the other British values, it’s also about making sure that everyone has equal rights and is treated equally. Each child’s views matter, and it’s important they are given the opportunity to share and collaborate to make decisions together.
The Rule of law is about understanding that rules matter in our society and are to be followed for a reason. For kids, it’s about helping them understand that actions have consequences and understanding the difference between right and wrong.
Individual Liberty focuses on freedom for everyone. The main point developmentally is to give children a positive sense of themselves. It's important to help children boost their self-confidence and self-awareness. This can be done by giving them the right language and context to understand their emotions.
Create a welcoming environment that embraces all beliefs, cultures, races, and perspectives, while also recognising and celebrating our unique qualities.
In addition to the values mentioned above, promoting British values is also about challenging behaviour that goes against these ideals. For example, your setting cannot:
A great way to check in on how you're doing at your setting is to conduct an Assess, Action and Show audit.
Show – Make sure you can explain or show to parents, inspectors or new teachers how you promote British values. If you can’t easily explain what you’ve done, you might not have done enough.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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