Fundamental British Values
Introduction
According to the Department for Education (DfE) the statutory requirements for early years providers are as follows. The fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded in the 2014 Early Years Foundation Stage. Separately, the Counter Terrorism and Security Act also places a duty on early years providers “to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” (the Prevent duty).
Statutory guidance on the duty is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance.
Democracy:
making decisions together as part of the focus on self-confidence and self-awareness as cited in Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Managers and staff can encourage children to see their role in the bigger picture, encouraging children to know their views count, value each other’s views and values and talk about their feelings. Staff can support the decisions that children make and provide activities that involve turn-taking, sharing and collaboration. Children should be given opportunities to develop enquiring minds in an atmosphere where questions are valued.
Rule of law:
understanding that rules matter as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development As part of the focus on managing feelings and behaviour: Staff can ensure that children understand their own and others’ behaviour and its 2 consequences, and learn to distinguish right from wrong and ensure that all children understand rules apply to everyone.
Individual liberty:
freedom for all As part of the focus on self-confidence & self-awareness and people & communities as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the World: Children should develop a positive sense of themselves. Staff can provide opportunities for children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and increase their confidence in their own abilities, for example through allowing children to take risks on an obstacle course, mixing colours, talking about their experiences and learning.
Mutual respect and tolerance:
treat others as you want to be treated As part of the focus on people & communities, managing feelings & behaviour and making relationships as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the World: Managers and leaders should create an ethos of inclusion and tolerance where views, faiths, cultures and races are valued and children are engaged with the wider community. Children should acquire a tolerance and appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.
What is not acceptable
Actively promoting intolerance of other faiths, cultures and races.
Failure to challenge gender stereotypes and routinely segregate girls and boys.
Isolating children from their wider community.
Failure to challenge behaviours (whether of staff, children or parents) that are not in line with the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs
Prevent Duty
Introduction
From 1 July 2015 all registered early years childcare providers are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty.
In order for schools and childcare providers to fulfil the Prevent duty, it is essential that staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified. Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation should be seen as part of a childcare providers’ wider safeguarding duties, and is similar in nature to protecting children from other harms (e.g. drugs, gangs, neglect, sexual exploitation), whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.
Even very young children may be vulnerable to radicalisation by others, whether in the family or outside, and display concerning behaviour. The Prevent duty does not require teachers or childcare providers to carry out unnecessary intrusion into family life but as with any other safeguarding risk, they must take action when they observe behaviour of concern
Procedure
The statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets standards for learning, development and care for children from 0-5, thereby assisting their personal, social and emotional development and understanding of the world.
If there is a concern about a particular child the normal safeguarding procedures will be followed, including discussing with the designated safeguarding lead, and where deemed necessary, with children’s social care. In Prevent priority areas, the local authority has a Prevent lead who can also provide support.
The local police force can be contacted or dial 101 (the non-emergency number). They can talk about any concerns in confidence and help access to support and advice.
Contacts
The Department for Education has dedicated a telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable staff and governors to raise concerns relating to extremism directly.
Concerns can also be raised by email to counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk.
The helpline is not intended for use in emergency situations, such as a child being at immediate risk of harm or a security incident, in which case the normal emergency procedures should be followed.
All referrals about serious allegations should be made through the Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), also known as the Duty & Assessment Team (DAT). However, if anyone is unclear about whether the situation warrants a referral, they can contact the LADO for advice.
The Duty and Assessment team will inform the LADO, but you can also let her know if a referral has gone in.
Contact details for the LADO are:
Amanda Glover, Local Authority Designated Officer
Tel: 01323 466606 Mob: 07825 782793
Email: amanda.glover@eastsussex.gov.uk
Clarification of abbreviations:
MASH - Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub
LADO – Local Authority Designated Officer
SP – Senior Practitioner
PM – Practice Manager
This policy was adopted at The Committee Meeting held on …………………
This policy is known, agreed and implemented by all staff.
This policy is known and made available to parents.