Moorside High School serves a wide and diverse area of Swinton, Greater Manchester.  Our students, their families, our staff, and other partners represent a diverse range of home backgrounds and cultures.  We aim to deliver a curriculum that is reflective of modern Britain and incorporates the interests of pupils to support them in becoming good local, national, and global citizens of the future.

The Department for Education states that there is a need ‘to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.’

Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We support and educate our students during their time with us in order to ensure that they grow into caring, responsible, and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the wider world. We encourage them to be creative, unique, open-minded, and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and others in our school, our local community, and beyond.

At Moorside, we actively promote British values in the following ways:

Democracy

Students are encouraged to debate topics of interest, express their views and make a meaningful contribution to the running of the school. They are able to do this in a number of ways e.g. through student voice activities; school council; questionnaires and surveys; assemblies.

Rule of Law

We have a clear positive ‘Ready to Learn’ policy that helps students to make positive choices about their behaviour. Through our Pastoral Curriculum, students are helped to distinguish right from wrong.  There is an expectation that this is reflected in the classroom, during assemblies, and in the playground. This is supported by a Restorative Justice approach. Students are encouraged to respect the law and Moorside High School actively encourages visits from services such as the Police, Fire, and Ambulance services to help reinforce the message.

Individual Liberty

At school, students are encouraged and given the freedom to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment, e.g. challenging themselves in their learning. They are supported to develop self-knowledge, self-confidence, and a growth mindset in all areas of school life. Students are taught to understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms in a safe way, e.g Form Time Curriculum; PSHE lessons.  They have key responsibilities in school such as Peer Mentoring; Prefects; Language Ambassadors.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

Students understand respect is expected to be shown to everyone, both adults and children.  We help them to develop an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures. Staff and students are encouraged to challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.

Links with local faith communities and visits to places of worship are promoted and people from different faiths are invited to school to share their experiences in assemblies and in class. Through the PSHE and RE curriculum, students are encouraged to discuss and respect differences and similarities between people. We offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied.