PAT WELCOMES “BRITISH VALUES” REPORT

25 January 2007

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) has welcomed the key findings of  the  Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review  and proposals to teach ‘British values’, announced today (25 January 2007). 

Alison Johnston, PAT’s Principal Professional Officer (Education), said: “We welcome the report and its findings. It is important that pupils learn about the history of their country and values such as tolerance and respect.

“However, we are concerned about how the proposed new strand of citizenship education will fit into an already crowded curriculum that is placing considerable demands on teachers and support staff.  It would be better for these new elements to be incorporated into existing programmes rather than be imposed as a new strand.

“The appropriate training and resources must also be put in place.

“There needs to be clear guidance on what is meant by ‘core British values’. These ‘values’ should not be prescriptive but should be inclusive. It would not be appropriate to promote an imperial British myth by teaching that values such as democracy, justice and fair play are exclusively British or implying that Britain is superior to other countries. 

“If they are to be successful, the proposed citizenship lessons must look at all the communities in the UK, their origins and their contributions to this country’s past, present and future.

“It should be possible to foster pride in, and a sense of belonging to, this country without being jingoistic or encouraging the aggressive nationalism that is sometimes fostered by the tabloid press.”

Speaking at PAT’s Annual Conference in August 2006, PAT General Secretary Philip Parkin called for a greater understanding of society’s “shared values”:

“I like living in our liberal, developed, multi-cultural society. I welcome and applaud the diversity that the integration of other cultures brings to this island. But as we absorb those influences – including those of positive, family-orientated, aspirational values – it is even more important that we develop and understand shared values of the society in which we live. If we don’t, then our value system collapses and we don’t know what we stand for any more. I think most important of all is the way that our society treats its children.

“I think that we do need shared values if 59 million of us are going to live together on this small island. We need common reference points that bring us together rather than force us apart. I do believe that there are common values which can be shared by all people, irrespective of religious belief or no belief at all. And I think common values about the place and importance of our children and their education would be a good place to start.”