Should staff ignore rules on promoting British Values?

New rules to promote Fundamental British Values (FBV) in schools and colleges are not without controversy. In March, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) voted to encourage teachers to ignore these rules. What are your staff thinking?

Although the term Fundamental British Values (FBV) has been around since 2011, it has come to the public’s consciousness in the light of the so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ allegations in Birmingham schools. In June 2014, Michael Gove announced to the House of Commons that all schools and colleges would be required to actively promote FBV. This was in response to the Trojan Horse affair and would be enforced through changes in the Ofsted inspection framework. From September 2015, schools and colleges may be judged inadequate if there are serious weaknesses in the overall promotion of FBV so that students are intolerant of others or reject any of the core values fundamental to life in modern Britain

In March 2015, a cross-party committee of senior MPs highlighted a ‘worrying lack of coordination’ between five overlapping official enquiries into the Trojan Horse affair. These included reports published by Ofsted, DfE, Birmingham City Council and the Education Funding Agency. The chair of the cross-party committee, Graham Stuart, said that apart from one incident in one school, ‘no evidence of extremism or radicalisation was found in any of the inquiries in any of the schools involved’.

Also in March 2015, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) held a motion for teachers to ignore the new rules to promote FBV, arguing that they were a disproportionate response to tackling issues of extremism and radicalisation.

In a previous equality updates, I explained that there is a genuine risk that promoting FBV will damage relationships and fracture community cohesion. But I also explained that if handled well, promoting FBV provides an opportunity to build on the work already taking place to integrate equality, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of college life. You can read my Jan 2015 news update on this topic here, and my March 2015 news update here

Sensitively handled, promoting FBV provides an excellent opportunity to increase the resilience of students to challenge extremist ideology, including far-right extremism. It provides an opportunity to counteract distorted, negative and stereotypical media reporting. It provides an opportunity to strengthen good relationships across a college environment. It provides an opportunity to establish an environment that is free from hate crime and intolerance and that promotes mutual respect. It can genuinely prepare learners to live and work in Britain and the world as responsible citizens in society. It can even, ultimately, help change society for the better.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Keen to find out how you can practically, sensitively yet positively promote British values in your organisation?

I am delivering workshops for a number of different colleges – you can download publicity for this training here

I am delivering a one-day training workshop on behalf of the AoC in London on 20 May 2015. You can find out further information about this event here