“I love BHS because it really does feel like a family. All staff and students know each other, are extremely supportive of one another and show amazing levels of respect throughout the school. There really isn’t another school like it!”
Miss Yates
Burnley High School
British Values
Promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance.
The Department for Education has published guidance to schools on promoting British values to prepare young people for life in modern Britain. At Burnley High School we take this responsibility very seriously and we actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.
These concepts are woven intrinsically throughout our curriculum and are explored in all subjects. In Religious Education, Personal Development, assemblies and form time, in particular, students can deepen their understanding. We make great efforts to ensure our children are exposed to a wide range of experiences beyond their own community.
We do this through school visits to the theatre, residentials and abroad, such as Berlin. This enables children to embrace difference and celebrate commonality between peoples alongside developing a pride in Britishness and a sense of belonging to our nation.
British values are further enhanced throughout curriculum subjects, for example in:
Citizenship
Citizenship GCSE strongly supports the promotion of British values across the school. Through topics such as democracy, law and justice, human rights, diversity, and community participation, students learn how society functions and how they can play an active role within it. The course helps pupils understand how democracy works in the UK, the importance of laws in protecting individuals, and the rights and responsibilities that come with individual liberty. It also promotes mutual respect and tolerance by exploring identity, equality, and the diverse range of faiths and cultures that make up modern Britain. Overall, the GCSE provides students with the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed to become informed, responsible, and engaged citizens.
Personal Development
Across Key Stages 3 and 4, pupils explore topics that help them develop into thoughtful, respectful, and responsible young people. Through lessons on relationships, wellbeing, and life in the wider world, they learn about fairness, equality, and how to make positive contributions to their school and community.
1
Democracy
2
The Rule of Law
3
Individual Liberty
4
Mutual Respect & Tolerance
Democracy
Student voice and participation
At Burnley High School we listen to the views of students through a variety of means including student voice, a thriving school leadership team and student council, who are elected by a pupil and staff vote. Students are encouraged to express clearly their viewpoint and listen to the views of others respectfully. Our students raise money for a chosen charity each term, and they lead in all aspects of the school such as charitable appeals and fundraising.
Democracy is further enhanced throughout curriculum subjects, for example in:
History
Students learn about the creation of Magna Carta under the rule of King John and the start of democracy in Britain. In Year 8, students learn about how governmental policy was used to introduce colonisation of territory abroad, allowed for the Transatlantic Slave Trade and supported child labour and poor working conditions in the coal mines and cotton mills of the Industrial Revolution. Our Year 9 students learn about the Inter-War Period and the political decisions that were made to prevent the outbreak of future wars, such as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the creation of the League of Nations and the policy of appeasement. At Key Stage 4 students explore Crime and Punishment from 1000 to the present day, studying how governmental policy impacted laws, crimes, punishments and law enforcement. Students also study the Weimar government, looking at the establishment of a democracy and a republic in Germany in 1918, the introduction of a constitution and how Adolf Hitler used democracy to gain power in Germany, allowing him to later set up a totalitarian dictatorship. In Year 11 students explore the role of the Privy Council and Court in Elizabethan Government.
Technology
Students debate consumer choices (cost vs ethics); they listen to and accept other people’s ideas.
Religious Education (RE)
Students explore the importance of a democracy through the study of crime and punishment.
The Rule of Law
Rights, responsibilities & safety
Burnley High School has the “BHS Way” which is a set of rules that promote the well-being and safety of individuals and the school as a whole. Each class reinforces the “BHS Way” and our school’s FAMILY ethos. The school has a positive behaviour policy that sets out rewards and sanctions. We encourage pupils to recognise rights and how these go hand in hand with responsibility.
The rule of law is further enhanced throughout curriculum subjects, for example in:
Food Technology
Students identify food safety and hygiene laws including weights, measurements, legal age-appropriate purchases and safety around these items, such as knives. Students follow safety rules and accept consequences if they are not followed.
Science
Students learn how scientific activities operate within a regulatory framework, including how cloning and embryological work is conducted within legal parameters.
History
Students study the changes that the Norman conquest of England brought to the country through the implementation of the Feudal System and the Domesday Book. They explore the power of the Plantagenet monarchs such as King John, Richard the Lionheart and Edward I. In Year 8, students explore legislation that was introduced to support the rule of law by the ruling classes to allow for the creation of the British Empire, the Transatlantic Slave Trade and child labour during the Industrial Revolution. Key Stage 3 ends with a unit on equality in Britain, studying the increase of the franchise for women allowing them to vote, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the British Nationality Act allowing for migration to Britain from Commonwealth countries. At Key Stage 4 students study Crime and Punishment from 1000 to the present day. In Year 11, students explore Elizabethan England and how people were treated if they broke laws such as the Poor Law, the Vagrancy Act and heresy laws.
Personal Development
Pupils are encouraged to share their views, listen to others, and understand how democratic decision-making works. They explore the importance of laws, personal responsibility, and making informed choices, both online and offline.
Individual Liberty
Confidence, resilience & informed choice
We support students to make informed choices in a secure setting. Students develop self-respect and value themselves as individuals. Our school FAMILY ethos, and methods of teaching, develop students’ independence as well as other qualities such as perseverance and resilience. At Burnley High School our curriculum celebrates the memory of those who have struggled for liberty.
Individual liberty is further enhanced throughout curriculum subjects, for example in:
History
Students explore how the people of Britain fought against the power of monarchs to fight for their individual liberties in Medieval England. In Year 8, through the study of the Reformation, students explore how the religious changes impacted the village of Morebath and what the villagers did to fight against these changes. They learn about the impact that colonisation had on the individual liberty of the indigenous people of North America, India and Australia. Students then explore the Transatlantic Slave Trade and how this removed individual liberty for those who were enslaved. In Year 9, students explore the causes, events and consequences of the Holocaust and how this impacted those affected. They then explore how the British Empire declined and countries were allowed to self-rule once again after World War Two. The end of Year 9 unit on equality explores how women, LGBTQ+ communities and migrants fought for their rights in the late twentieth century. Key Stage 4 allows pupils to explore the impact of Nazi rule in Germany and how this impacted the lives of many across Germany. In Year 11, students study the impact of new laws in America that affect the Indigenous People of the Plains and their nomadic lifestyle on the Great Plains in the American West.
Personal Development
Students study what freedom of speech is while respecting other people’s opinions.
Mutual Respect & Tolerance
Equality, diversity & understanding
Mutual respect is shown by all adults and students towards each other and towards our community. Our wide and broad curriculum supports this and helps children to articulate what respect means in practice. Students can talk about their own faith and beliefs as well as the faiths and beliefs of others. Through our diverse wide curriculum, particularly Religious Education, Personal Development, assemblies and form time, we deepen children’s understanding of faith and belief. We welcome visitors from our community, and we have two drop-down days dedicated to “respect and equality and diversity” to enrich understanding of culture as well as an emphasis on tolerance.
Mutual respect and tolerance are further enhanced throughout curriculum subjects, for example in:
English
Students analyse poetry from a wide range of different cultures.
Religious Education (RE)
Students debate the big question “What justice is there in our world?”
Food Technology
Students offer constructive criticism, create designs based on different cultures, accept ideas which are different from their own and create dishes from British culture. They research and understand religious and ethical diets.
History
Students study the spread of the religions of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity along the Silk Roads, then explore the empires of Mali and Benin and how these empires in Africa were overtaken by foreign rulers. They study the might of the Mughal Empire in India and the role of Islam and Hinduism. In Year 8, students explore the Reformation and the changes and conflict between the Catholic and Protestant religions in England. They then explore the impact of colonisation on the indigenous people of North America, India and Australia. Students study the role played by colonial soldiers in the First World War, including Khudadad Khan, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery. Students in Year 9 investigate the impact of the Second World War across the world and the significance of the Holocaust. Students then learn about the decline of the British Empire and the impacts that this had on nations such as Australia and India. Year 9 ends with a study on how women, LGBTQ+ communities and migrants have fought for equality in Britain in the later part of the twentieth century. Key Stage 4 allows pupils to explore the differences between social classes in Elizabethan England, the treatment of the Indigenous people of the Plains and the mistreatment of different groups in Nazi Germany.
Art
Students show respect for other students’ artwork when it has been produced and is being peer-assessed.
Personal Development
Our curriculum helps students build confidence and independence, while promoting empathy and respect for others. By learning about different cultures, faiths, and perspectives, pupils gain a deeper appreciation of the diversity that shapes modern Britain.
