Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Willow, and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called "Fundamental British Values", and it fits into the unit "Communities: What does it mean to be British?" I'm really excited to teach you today's lesson, so let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain what fundamental British values are and why they are important.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

We've got some friends to help us remember the ground rules.

Laura tells us that we'll need to listen to others.

This means that if someone else is talking, we are not going to interrupt them.

Next, Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy.

This means that we're not going to ask anyone any personal questions as this can make some people feel uncomfortable.

Next, Jacob says, no judgment.

This means that if someone chooses to share a story, experience, or a feeling, we are not going to judge them for it.

And finally, Izzy reminds us that we can choose our level of participation.

This means that it's up to us how much we want to join in.

We're now going to take a look at the keywords for today's lesson.

These keywords are really important because they're going to come up quite a few times in today's lesson, so it's really important that we have a good understanding of what each of these words mean.

First of all, we have the word value.

In this context, this is something that we think is important and should guide how we behave.

And next, we have fundamental.

This is something very important and basic, like the foundation of something.

As we go through today's lesson, keep an eye out for these keywords and when you spot them, see if you can remember what they mean.

Today's lesson is split into two learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called "What are the Fundamental British Values?" And our second learning cycle is called, "Why are British values important?" Let's make a start on our first learning cycle: "What are the fundamental British values?" What is important for people to live happily together? Maybe you want to pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

You might even want to tell me: what is important for people to live happily together? Let's have a look and see what our Oak National Academy friends have to say.

Aisha says that for people to live happily together, it's important to be kind.

Andeep says that it's important to follow the rules.

And Jacob says that it's important to help people.

All of these things, being kind, following rules, and helping people, are examples of values.

A value is something that we think is important, and remember that this is one of our key words.

Values guide how we live and how we treat each other too.

Some values are so important that we call them fundamental values.

Fundamental means something very important and basic, like the foundation of a house.

Fundamental values are the basic ideas that guide our society.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing so far.

I'd like you to decide if this statement is true or false: Fundamental values are extra important values that help guide how we live together.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is true.

It is true that fundamental values are extra important values that help to guide how we live together.

For example, being kind and helping each other.

Britain has four fundamental British values.

Our first fundamental British value is democracy.

Our second fundamental British value is rule of law.

Our third is individual liberty.

And our last fundamental British value is mutual respect and tolerance.

Democracy means that everyone gets to have their say.

We can vote to choose our leaders, we can share our ideas and opinions, and everyone's voice is important in a democratic society.

Rule of law means that everyone follows the same rules and laws.

Rules and laws keep us safe and fair.

Everyone must follow the laws, even adults and leaders, and there are consequences when these laws are broken.

Individual liberty means that you are free to make your own choices.

You can choose your friends, hobbies, and interests.

You can have your own beliefs and opinions.

You must be responsible with your choices and not hurt others.

Mutual respect and tolerance means that we treat everyone kindly.

So, we're kind to people who are different from us, we listen to other people's ideas even if we don't always agree, and we accept that people have different beliefs, faiths, and ways of life.

Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Which of the fundamental British values is missing from this list? Democracy, rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance, and which fundamental British value is missing? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that individual liberty was missing.

The fundamental British values are democracy, rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance, and individual liberty.

Well done if you got this right.

These values have been important in Britain for hundreds of years.

First of all, there's the Magna Carta from 1215.

This very old and important document said that rulers had to follow laws too.

Remember, this is the rule of law from our fundamental British values.

In 1689, there was the Bill of Rights, and this important document gave people more freedom and more say in how the country was run.

And this relates to our fundamental British values of individual liberty and democracy.

And in the 1800s to the 1900s, more people were allowed to vote to choose their leaders.

And this is an example of democracy, another one of our fundamental British values.

In 1948, there was the Human Rights Act, and this law said that all people must be treated fairly, and this relates to our fundamental British value of mutual respect and tolerance.

In 2011, the UK government asked all schools to teach about the British values, and today we learn about the values in school to help our communities.

The government chose these four values in 2011 because they show the most important ideas that have helped Britain for centuries.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to decide which two statements are correct.

A, the Magna Carta meant that rulers had to follow laws too, B, the Human Rights Act was signed in 1215, C, the government asked schools to teach the values in 2011, or D, the Bill of Rights gave people less freedom.

Out of those statements, which two are correct? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that A and C are correct.

It is correct that the Magna Carta meant that rulers had to follow laws too, and it's true that the government asked schools to teach the values in 2011.

Well done if you got this right.

Some people think that all the values were British ideas, but this is not true.

These values are found in many different places around the world.

Canada follows peace, order, and good government, and this means keeping everyone safe and making fair decisions.

India believes in unity in diversity, and this means that different groups of people live together happily.

Ghana supports unity and justice, and this means fairness for everyone.

France has liberty, equality, and fraternity.

This means freedom, fairness, and friendship for all.

They are called British values because they're very important in Britain, and they help to guide how we live here.

Let's do another check for understanding.

I'd like you to decide is Aisha is right? Aisha says that they're called British values as they were all created by British people.

What do you think? Is Aisha correct? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Aisha is not correct.

But why? You might have said that these values weren't created by British people.

Lots of countries around the world have the same or similar ideas, but we call them fundamental British values, British values because they are important ideas that help to guide people in Britain.

Well done if you said something similar.

We are now moving on to your first practice task, and well done for your hard work so far.

For this task, I'd like you to discuss the following questions with your partner: Number one, what does the word fundamental mean? Number two, what are the four British values? Number three, can you name one old document that helped to create British values and when schools started teaching about them? And number four, why are these values called British values if other countries have similar ideas? Can you discuss the questions that I've just read out and that you can see on your screen with your partner? Pause the video, and we'll go through some model answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

For number one, what does the word fundamental mean? You might have said that fundamental means something very important and basic, like the foundation of something.

Number two, what are the four British values? You might have said that the four fundamental British values are democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance.

For number three, name one old document that helped create British values and when schools started teaching about them.

You might have said that the Magna Carta or the Bill of Rights helped to create British values, and schools started teaching about them in 2011.

And number four, why are these values called British values if other countries have similar ideas? You might have said that they're called British values because they're very important in Britain and they help to guide how we live here, even though other countries have similar ideas.

Well done if your discussions were anything like this.

It's now time to move on to our second learning cycle: Why are British values important? Let's have a think about what would happen if we didn't have any shared values.

Maybe you want to think about this question with the person next to you, or you want to have a think to yourself or tell me.

Let's see what our friends at Oak National Academy have to say.

Aisha says that unfortunately, if we didn't have any shared values, people might be unfair or unkind to each other.

Andeep says that there could be lots of arguments.

And Jacob says that unfortunately, people might not feel like they belong if we didn't have any shared values.

This is why our British values are so important.

They help to guide how we act in our communities so that everyone can live together happily.

When we all follow the same important values, our communities work better for everyone, and everyone feels like they belong.

Shared values help to keep us safe.

British values remind us how to behave so that people are protected and that they stay safe.

For example, by following the rule of law, this keeps everyone safe because we all know what the rules are, and we follow them together.

Shared values also keep life fair, so values like democracy make sure that everyone gets a chance to share their voice and for it to be listened to.

For example, when we vote or discuss things together, everyone's ideas are listened to and they count.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you are doing with this learning cycle so far.

Which of the British values makes sure that everyone has a say? Is it A, the rule of law, B, democracy, or C, respect and tolerance? Which of the British values makes sure that everyone has a say? Can you remember? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that the British value that makes sure that everyone has a say is called democracy.

Well done if you got this right.

Shared values also protect our freedom.

Values like individual liberty remind us that we're free to make our own choices, but with responsibility for how our choices affect other people too.

For example, you can choose what games to play, but you must include others, and you must be fair.

Shared values show respect to others.

Mutual respect and tolerance means that people are treated kindly even if they believe different things or they belong to different faiths.

For example, we're respectful of our classmates who celebrate different holidays or who have different family situations from us.

Let's do another check for understanding.

I'd like you to decide who is correct.

Aisha says that values like individual liberty remind us that we're free to make choices, but with responsibility.

But Andeep says that values like individual liberty remind us that we're free to make choices without needing to think of others.

Who do you think is correct? Aisha or Andeep? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Aisha is correct.

Aisha's correct that values like individual liberty remind us that we are free to make choices, but we do have a responsibility to others too.

This means making sure that we include everyone, that we listen to everyone, and that we keep things fair.

Well done if you got this right.

Shared values help schools, families, and communities live together fairly, safely, and respectfully.

So let's have a think about the question: How do we use British values in our school and classroom every day? Let's take a look at democracy in our classroom.

So this might look like us voting for our class monitor or school council representative, putting our hands up to share ideas, and remembering that everyone's voice counts, so we are not going to speak over anyone or ignore what someone thinks.

Let's look at the rule of law and how this might look in our school.

This might mean that we all follow the same school rules, even the teachers and the head teacher too, and we have consequences that are fair for everyone.

British values work at home and in our communities too.

So individual liberty at home might look like picking the types of clothes that you wear in your free time and being able to choose which sports or clubs that we want to join, or the trusted adults will help to keep us safe.

Our mutual respect and tolerance in our communities.

This might look like being kind to our neighbors who are different to us and offering help to elderly neighbors if they need our support.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? We only use British values at school, not at home or in our community.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, tell me, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false.

But why? You might have said that we use British values everywhere, at school, at home, and in our communities, and this helps everyone live together happily.

Well done if you said something similar to this.

It's now time to move on to our second practice task.

Well done for your hard work in this lesson.

For the first part of this task, I'd like you to complete the conversation between the Oak National Academy pupils.

Aisha says that British values keep people safe because.

Andeep says that they protect our freedom because.

And Jacob says, "They help people with different beliefs because.

." I'd like you to complete the conversation between these pupils, showing your understanding of British values from this lesson.

Pause the video, and we'll go through some model answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have said.

Aisha might now say something like, "British values keep people safe because they remind us to follow the same rules and respect each other so that everyone is protected." Andeep might now say, "They protect our freedom because individual liberty means that we can make our own choices, but we must be responsible and not hurt others." And Jacob may now say something like, "They help people with different beliefs because mutual respect and tolerance means that we treat everyone kindly even when they're different from us." For the second part of this task, the Oak National Academy pupils have missed one of the reasons why British values are so important from their conversation.

I'd like you to add your own explanation for why British values make life more fair.

Pause the video, and we'll go through what you might have said in a few minutes.

Okay, your answer might look a little bit like this: "British values make life fair because everyone gets a chance to share their voice through democracy and make decisions together." Well done if your answer was similar to this.

We're now going to summarize the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we have learned that the fundamental British values are important ideas that guide how we live together.

They include democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance.

These ideas have been important in Britain for hundreds of years, and we use them every day at school, at home, and in our communities.

These values help to keep our communities safe, fair, and respectful.

Everyone in Britain benefits from following these values.

Similar ideas are found in many different countries, but they're very important in Britain.

Well done for your fantastic hard work in today's lesson.

I'm really proud of you, and I hope to see you in another lesson soon.