The four fundamental British values are democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Schools in England are expected to promote them as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, and Ofsted looks for them when it inspects. The harder bit is teaching them so pupils actually think, instead of nodding at a poster.
Most schools can point to that poster. Getting a Year 9 class to care what’s on it is another matter. Below you’ll find what the values are, where the expectation comes from, and a way of teaching them that trusts pupils to argue.
What are the four fundamental British values?
The government’s wording is “democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith”. Ofsted uses the same list. Here are working definitions you can use with pupils, all of them open to challenge:
- Democracy: a system of government by the whole population, or at least everyone eligible to vote.
- The rule of law: clearly defined laws that apply to everyone and are enforced equally, whatever a person’s background or status.
- Individual liberty: the freedom to live your own way and hold your own views and beliefs without interference.
- Mutual respect and tolerance: accepting that people of different faiths and beliefs (and none) should be protected in law, and shouldn’t face prejudice or discrimination because of what they believe.
Each definition raises a question the moment you say it out loud. Who counts as eligible? Who makes the law, and who checks them? That’s useful, and we’ll come back to it.
Where does the duty come from, and what does Ofsted expect?
Schools have a legal duty to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development (section 78 of the Education Act 2002 for maintained schools, with an equivalent for academies). In 2014 the Department for Education published advice, Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools, which named the four values and said schools should actively promote them.
Ofsted looks at this under personal development. Inspectors want to see that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. That means they understand the values, respect people who are different from them, can engage with views unlike their own in a considered way, and know how to discuss and debate. The framework has changed more than once, so check the current handbook for the exact wording. The spirit hasn’t moved much.
What is the purpose of embedding British values in schools?
That’s the compliance answer. The better one is that pupils are already living with these questions, whether or not school raises them. Who belongs, what it means to be British, how far free speech goes: it’s all on their phones.
Values are hard to pin down, but a decent working definition is “the principles we live by: the things we value most, which give families, communities and society an ethical framework”. In a diverse country where people don’t share one faith or origin (and many have no faith), shared values are one of the few things that can hold people together while leaving them free to be who they are.
There’s a caution too. National identity can be used to divide, and a lesson that simply tells pupils “these are our values, be proud of them” can slide that way. So don’t hand down a list. Help pupils understand the values well enough to question them.
How do you teach British values so pupils actually think?
Start before the list. Give pupils a simple scenario and ask whether it’s OK or not OK, and why. One that works well: a parent gives two hungry sisters a chocolate bar each, and one grabs the other’s bar without asking. Within a few minutes you’ll hear fairness, kindness, consent and equality. Those are values, and the pupils found them themselves.
Then bring in the official four, and for each one work through the same handful of questions:
- What does it mean? Agree a definition.
- What are its imperfections and limits?
- Does it clash with any of the other values?
- Is it distinctly British, or do other countries hold it too?
- Is it actually upheld in Britain today?
International comparisons give pupils something concrete to argue with. Switzerland puts national questions to a public vote several times a year. Is that more democratic than electing an MP and leaving them to it? Some countries enforce the law far more harshly than we do, and some barely enforce it at all. Where’s the sensible middle? Pupils quickly work out that none of the four values is uniquely British. That leads to a better question: is it the mix that’s British, shaped by our history and institutions? (Our course Fundamental British Values: A Starter goes through these comparisons value by value.)
What awkward questions can you ask about each value?
These are the questions that get a class going. Pick a few, not all of them.
Democracy: if people aren’t well informed, should their vote count the same? Should an MP vote for what their constituents want or what they judge best? Does the pressure to get re-elected push leaders towards short-term decisions?
The rule of law: who makes the law and why should we trust them? Are exemptions ever fair? Should a police officer enforce a law they believe is unjust?
Individual liberty: should you be free to protest violently, or to shout “fire” in a crowded theatre? Where’s the line between your liberty and everyone else’s safety?
Mutual respect and tolerance: is “tolerance” the right word, or does it just mean putting up with each other? Should we tolerate intolerance? What should happen when someone defends a harmful practice in the name of culture or faith?
What happens when the values clash, and what’s missing?
This is where the real learning is. What if a democratically elected government curbs people’s liberties? What if someone uses their freedom of speech to stir up hatred? What if elected politicians play on intolerance to win votes?
Clashes like these show pupils that values need a pecking order, and then the harder question turns up: who decides it? In Britain that’s mostly elected politicians, the courts and public debate, which is a good argument for why democracy matters so much. Human rights are meant to sit above any one country’s values, though they’re hard to enforce in a world of nation states.
Finish by asking what’s missing from the list. Go back to the chocolate bar. Fairness, kindness, consent and equality all came up, and none of them is on the government’s four. A pupil who’s spotted that has understood the values far better than one who can recite them.
How do you keep the discussion safe?
These conversations touch on identity, faith, race and extremism, so set up a safe learning environment first: agreed ground rules, and permission to disagree with ideas without attacking people.
Open discussion will sometimes surface views that worry you. Challenge prejudice calmly in the room, as you would anywhere else. If something a pupil says or does raises a safeguarding concern, including any concern about radicalisation, follow your school’s procedures and pass it to your designated safeguarding lead. Don’t try to judge it alone.
British values CPD for teachers
If you’re planning a staff session or your own lessons, you’ll find more on planning what you teach on our curriculum topic page.
The course is led by Joe Hayman, a former chief executive of the PSHE Association. He takes each of the four values in turn, with the definitions, the awkward questions, the clashes and the international comparisons, and shows how to teach them so pupils get to think for themselves. It’s written with Key Stages 3 to 5 in mind, but it’s useful for anyone who teaches or leads on PSHE, citizenship, RE or SMSC. See Fundamental British Values: A Starter.