Culture and Ethos

Everyone has values that they believe in and choose to live their life by. In Great Britain we share lots of values that make our nation a great place.

We all live by and respect the same laws. These keep us safe and are rules for everyone to make our world fair.

Everyone should learn to value the opinions of the people around them and to appreciate that everyone is different. We should celebrate our similarities and our differences and promote peace through a culture of respect and tolerance.

Everyone has freedom of speech which means that we are all entitled to our own opinions. What is important is that we respect everyone's opinions and don't try to force them to change them. We all also have the right to be free people and make our own choices about our lives. Any choices we do make should be thought through carefully and we should consider the effect they might have on other people. Everyone has the right to be different and live their life how they want to. Individual Liberty is something that makes our country special and great.

We should all take care of the people in our family. Families are made up of lots of different people and are very varied. No two families are the same, but we should learn to appreciate and respect each other and support each other where we can. Make time to be with your family. They are the most important people in your life.

The United Kingdom has a lot of interesting history that we learn about in school. It is through our past and history that our country is what it is today. The past makes us who we are and we should want to learn about the people and events that shaped our lives in history.

We have many different traditions. Some are ancient and some are more modern. These traditions are things that we can all enjoy and share as British people.

In this country we have democratic rights to allow everyone to have their voice heard and to share their opinions on important matters. Democracy means that we all have a chance to vote for a Prime Minister and Government, and that we can express our views on how the country runs. Democracy is the fairest way to make sure everyone is included.

Who are the British? Ask us and you will find that we dance to music from America, Africa and Asia; we eat food from Ireland, Italy and Jamaica; we speak more than three hundred languages and we know over four hundred different ways to cook a potato. We look Celtic, Arab and Bengali; we wear kilts, saris and football shorts, and if you get very close to us and look right into our eyes, you can almost see the history of the whole world. The British are not a single tribe, or a religion, and we don't come from a single place. But we are building a home where we are all able to be who we want to be, yet still be British. This is what we do: we take, we adapt, and we move forward. Benjamin Zephaniah.

Luton in Harmony is a scheme that was started by Luton Borough Council but is now owned by the residents of Luton themselves. It is a scheme that promotes Luton in a positive light and aims to show the world that we are a close community with many backgrounds, cultures, religions and voices and we live in peace and harmony together. If you would like to know more about Luton in Harmony, please click on the image below.

PSHE is taught through some elements of SEAL where relevant. We follow the Sainsbury's school games values: determination, passion, honesty, self-belief, respect, teamwork and PSHE lessons are focussed on these values. We also take account of any National days of celebration or special importance and discuss these during PSHE lessons. Values are displayed in every classroom and around the school.

At the end of each half term, one child from each class is selected for a special Values Award and the aim is for children to try to collect all 6 during their time at the school. If they succeed, they become a Values Ambassador. Parents are invited in to the special award ceremony each half term if their child has been selected. Our website features the values winners each half term, as well as displaying our school values, displays and British Values.

We hold an annual Diversity Day where each child can come into school in National Dress and bring in items or artefacts of special importance to them. We share these items together and discuss their importance to us on a sentimental, religious and cultural level. We teach our children about respect for other cultures and traditions and explore these through this event.

We take part in the annual Peace Walk with other local schools in our area and pupils, staff and parents join in to visit different places of worship and share traditions and beliefs.

Each year we have a Harvest appeal and collect food items or cash donations for different charities. In 2014, we collected food for the Luton Food Bank and then took a group of children to the warehouse to see how it all works and learn about the impact of their donations. We teach our children to be kind members of society and good citizens.

Collective worship is held every day and we talk to our children about moral issues and values that we all share. We explore different religions and beliefs and spend time in reflection. We are required to provide Collective Worship that is mainly of a broadly Christian character. We share our views and respect each other's choices and beliefs.

We hold regular assemblies on different celebrations and religious festivals. These may include guest speakers and performances of dance, drama or singing. We try to include as many different traditions from different cultures and religions as we can in order to explore other backgrounds with our children. They learn to respect the views and beliefs of others and to enjoy the celebrations together.

We hold regular assemblies which address our school values and look at them from different angles: sports, work in school, citizenship, etc. Each half term we focus on a different value and encourage our children to think about how they can achieve it.

We also have regular assemblies that look specifically at British Values and tie these into our own values: Patriotism, Respect, Luton in Harmony, etc.

We invite in lots of guest speakers to speak to the children about different topics and experiences. Past speakers include:

• Partha Dey – A local business man who climbed Everest and came to talk to the children about dedication and aspiring to great things.
• Dog Warden – Who talked to the children about how to look after pets and how to approach animals safely.
• Luton Town Football Club
• Community Police Officers – about Luton In Harmony, etc.

We are developing links with St Mary's Care Home near to the school and take the children to talk to and engage with the residents. We want to teach our children about people of different ages and backgrounds and show them how they are valuable members of society with lots to share.

We have three classes in Year 5 who are taking part in the Schools Linking Network. We have taken part in previous years and linked with various schools, but this year we are linking with St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School. The Schools linking Network is a project that we have participated in for over four years now.

We have been running a big project on World War I and II throughout the whole school. We also purchased a ceramic poppy from the Tower of London. We worked as a school to recognise the importance of the centenary of World War I and to show our children how our past has helped to change our future. We also look at other significant events and periods of British History.

We raise lots of money for charity in school and always make sure the children are aware of where their money is going and what the charity is for. It also shows our children how to have compassion for others and teaches them to be kind and thoughtful.

We have a healthy fruit Tuck shop run at break times for the children to purchase food and fruit drinks from.

We teach our children how to have a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. All children participate in PE sessions and are encouraged to take part in sporting events and tournaments. We also talk to them about how to control our feelings and talk about our emotions in order to keep our minds healthy.

Our School Council and Eco Warriors are very active and have lots of projects within school and the community that they are working on. The Eco Warriors are looking at international links and designing a project based around this and the environment. Our School Council have regular meetings and discussions with the Headteacher, feeding back views and suggestions from their peers. The children are integral to all we do at the school and we are keen to have their voice heard.