Government urged to improve teaching of ‘British values’ in schools
British values should continue to be taught in schools or the UK will “regret it later”, a former education secretary has said.
Labour peer Lord Blunkett said the summer riots and distortion on social media showed the need to “reinforce the importance” of the values which “do hold us together”, adding more teachers should be trained.
His remarks came as he supported the Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill, tabled by independent crossbench peer Lord Harries of Pentregarth.
The Bill aims to change the current list of “British values” required to be taught in schools in England and Wales, although education is a devolved matter in Wales.
Values
Lord Harries, moving his Bill at second reading, told peers: “I believe passionately that fundamental values should be taught in schools, at a time when the world has a growing number of dictatorships, autocracies and managed democracies, it’s vital that pupils in our schools should understand the fundamental political values on which our society is founded.”
Lord Harries added: “For young people this is often the key moral issue of our times. I believe that the addition of respect for the environment would help young people see the importance of this set of values as a whole.”
He added that the Bill would “give a boost to citizenship education, it would show clearly the political values that are to be taught, (and) it would give the subject a much sharper focus”.
Threats
Liberal Democrat education spokesman Lord Storey welcomed the Bill but stressed the need for British values to be “taken seriously” in schools.
He questioned if teachers received specific training on the subject, adding: “It’ll end up like what often happens with subjects which are not exam assessed, they just become something that’s just pushed to one side.
“If we’re really serious about, we have to be serious about it in schools.”
Concern
For the Conservatives, the Earl of Effingham said: “Pupils are currently not tested on the values, which means that headteachers are much less focused on this. So will the Government start testing?”
Education minister Baroness Smith of Malvern said Labour governments have a “proud history” of promoting British values in the education system.
She said: “This Government will continue that tradition to ensure our children and young people are supported to become active and engaged citizens.”
Lady Smith went on to express “concern” about the Bill’s approach to legislating on British values, saying: “The fundamental British values at the moment are not currently set out as a list of values that exist within law. The guidance is non-statutory.
“Primary legislation that changes and, to a certain extent, sets in stone British values would potentially limit school freedoms to tailor their approach and would open schools up to external challenge to their provision beyond Ofsted inspections, which are right actually to ensure that values are being properly dealt with.
“Dealing with that challenge would in turn place huge burdens on schools.”
Lady Smith said ensuring schools have some autonomy in this area is important, adding: “Schools need to be free to embed the values in a way that meets the needs of their pupils.”
The Bill received an unopposed second reading and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date, although is unlikely to become law without Government support.
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Only teach Welsh values to Welsh children 🏴 they’ll have you singing god save the king soon if they could.
What exactly are “British” values and how do they differ from most other European countries. There is nothing exceptional about this list and some values such as democracy it could be said that it is very limited in the UK..
What a horrendous idea! Living in Cymru I don’t want to see British values being taught, though the history of the British Empire taught from a critical perspective might not be a bad idea.
I shudder when anything suggests that I’ll have to see more bloody Union Flags everywhere.
It’s Blunkett, mun, he’s been unsighted for so long he doesn’t have a clue what’s been going in this country ever since his boss Bliar saw fit to carry on with the erosion of any real values left in the crumbling UK. Since then it’s got worse, or even worser but old Blunkett sat in his Upper House bubble has no clue or is deliberately ignoring signals.
Whats the point in teaching British values if it only applies to England and Wales? Surely it should be taught across all 4 UK nations, with English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish values also being taught is their respective nations. This makes British values look increasingly the same as English values, in which they being imposed on in Wales. Unionists are once again shooting themselves in the foot. Come to think of it, be my guest!!
The “British value of democracy” is a million miles away from the actual value (and practice) of democracy. The Brit version hinges on an undemocratic House of Lords and a Head of State, currently tottering around his Antipodean Realm, who is not only unelected but also creams the fat off our land and from our seas. But at least God will save him, if we all pull together and open our throats. On that anthemic note, enter Lord Harries – a former Bishop and Army Officer – who is clearly an ear to the ground sort of dude. A turbulent… Read more »
Huh? British Values? Reading through the paper it means being decent. But the previous government had to “British” it all up.
Re name it, just call it “decent values” then teach the kids history such as which country mansion and estates in the UK benefited hugely from slavery and how much compensation they received from our taxes. That sort of thing.
When the British army strapped people to artilliery and fired them, were those “British Values”? When Tony Blair and his government lied about WMD in Iraq and joined the rabid American neocons on a bloodsoaked crusade to remodel the Middle East to their liking (and failed miserably), were those “British Values”? When Wales does not once in some 170 years of so-called British democracy give the Tories a majority but we get repeatedly saddled with their blight on our nation … is that “British Values”? You can stick your “British Values” up the same place you can stick your blessed… Read more »
British Values what a bloody laugh we have 2 unionist parties that are rotten to the core liars cheats and thieves a second tier the house of Lords with 90 Hereditary Peers handed down plus the ones nominated giving large donations to Labour Tory and other parties the civil service the top jobs taken by the Toff public schoolboys like Eton and top of the tree Royals god forbid we are in the TWENTY FIRST CENTUARY and the top jobs are for the old school tie brigade those are supposed to be values you can keep them give me a… Read more »
British values – Flying the Butchers Apron wherever possible to remove any previous existence. The British Broadcasting Company – denying the slaughter of thousands of innocent children and people in the Gaza strip, West Bank and now Lebanon, never mind the ‘British’ attrocities committed over the last millenia. Let’s teach the truth about the British colonist history which still continues and the connection between the arms industry, capitalism and the wars all over the world today.
Boris Johnson as PM was British values personified.