British Values
When ‘British values’ are mentioned in education, it often refers to the political perspective of Fundamental British Values rather than the cultural perspective, attitudes and beliefs.
Culturally, the values that makeup what it means to be British are ever-evolving. However, the Fundamental British Values are a set of four broad values that underpin what it is to be a citizen in a modern, democratic, and diverse society in the United Kingdom.
The values are Democracy, Rule of Law, Respect and Tolerance, and Individual Liberty. These values were designed to promote and protect our national identity and national values of freedom of thought, expression and choice while maintaining the need for safety and security.
What are the individual values?
Democracy
This value is based on the idea that everyone should have an equal say in how their country, city, educational institutions, classroom and daily lives are governed and that this governance should be accountable to the people. In order to do this, this value sets out to ensure all individuals understand how a democratic system works.
This value is also based upon the idea of equal representation, where freedom, equality and choice are provided as rights. However, an aspect of this value is the need for individuals to understand their responsibilities within their country, city, educational institutions, classroom and daily life. As such, within an educational setting, promoting democracy means encouraging individuals to understand their rights and responsibilities, participate in discussions, and respect others’ viewpoints.
Rule of Law
This value is based on the idea that everyone in society should be treated equally and fairly to allow for a positive, safe and secure environment for all. The Rule of Law also promotes and champions a sense of order and stability in local communities and wider society. It also highlights the need for everyone to follow the same rules and laws as responsible citizens within the UK.
As such, the Rule of the Law value can be divided into four core elements;
First, everyone is subject to the law regardless of position, status, or wealth. This element emphasises that no individual is above the law and that the law should be applied equally to all citizens.
The second element is protection and promotion. This element is based on the understanding that laws are enacted and in place to provide protection and set clear boundaries for acceptable behaviour, safeguarding everyone’s rights and freedoms.
Thirdly, the next element is accountability and consequences. This element focuses on people being held accountable for their actions. As such, it should be known that when laws, rules and boundaries are broken, there are consequences, and this helps to maintain order in society.
The final element is that of justice and fairness. This element focuses on ensuring that laws, rules or boundaries are applied consistently, without bias or favouritism, which in turn allows for the fostering of a culture of respect, equality, and safety for all citizens, promoting trust in legal and political systems.
Individual Liberty
This value refers to an individual’s freedom, autonomy and agency to make their own choices and express themselves freely within the boundaries of the law. It emphasises the protection of personal freedoms, including the right to live, think, and speak without oppression or undue restriction.
However, a core aspect of Individual Liberty is that it also highlights the importance of personal responsibility, ensuring that while people have the freedom to pursue their own paths, they do so in a way that respects the rights and freedoms of others and develops an understanding of how their actions can impact others around them.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs
This value is rooted in the understanding that individuals hold diverse beliefs, opinions, values, and experiences. One of the aims of this value is to demonstrate that this diversity is a strength within a community or society rather than a dividing point.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance as a value advocates the principle of ‘treat others as you want to be treated’, encouraging respect that goes beyond mere tolerance but actively values diversity and promotes a depth of understanding of the wide range of beliefs, opinions, values, and experiences of others without imposing our own on them.
Unlike the other values, there can be some confusion regarding the interconnection of ‘Respect and Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’. Some consider it as one of the four Fundamental British Values, while others view it as two separate values, ‘Mutual respect’ and ‘Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’. However, regardless of the interconnection, the core message remains the same: promote understanding and respect.
A Brief Origins of the British Values
The concept of the current values originated within the Prevent strategy, which came from the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The Prevent Strategy aimed to address the rise in extremism within the UK. Within this strategy, there was a range of groups identified as being classed as extremists, from Islamic extremism to white nationalists.
Originally, within the Prevent strategy, the teaching of Fundamental British Values was not made compulsory. The phrasing used was to respect the fundamental British values. This was later amended in 2014 in the wake of the Trojan Horse Affair (for more information regarding this, please click here), a significant event that made the teaching of fundamental British values compulsory for schools to promote and monitor. The Trojan Horse affair was based on an anonymous letter sent to the Birmingham City Council, which described a plan to take over a number of schools in Birmingham and run them on strict Islamic teachings.
This letter went on to summarise the five-stage process needed to remove headteachers and take control of schools, which it stated had been implemented and practised in several schools already, which resulted in the desired results. The five stages outlined within the letter were:
- “identify your schools;
- select a group of Salafi parents;
- put our own governor in;
- identify key staff to disrupt the school from within, and
- anonymous letter and PR campaign” (Clarke, 2014, p.g. 5).
As stated, the desired outcome of these five stages was to as noted within the letter to ‘wear down’, remove or diminish their resilience to the extent that they resign from their position and, in effect, allow for the installation of an in the letters, authors’ views, an appropriate Islamic leaning head teacher.
Despite West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, and Ofsted’s subsequent inspection, which found multiple failures but nothing confirming the plan to be anything more than a hoax, media reporting on the Trojan Horse Affair began at the end of February 2014. This issue became the focal point of the news agenda. With the growing attention, worry and frustration of the public and the government’s need to be seen to be ‘doing something’ around this alleged radicalisation of an entire city’s education system, in November of 2014, Fundamental British Values became mandatory.
Criticisms Of The British Values
A moral panic
A critique of the Fundamental British Values argues that these values, amidst a widespread ‘moral panic’ instigated by the media, have been exploited by increasingly nationalistic and right-leaning governments. This exploitation, a misuse of the moral panic, served as a quick-fix solution to the perceived problem. The governments, in this context, have repurposed an existing strategy, originally designed to quell the very issue the moral panic was centered on. In doing so, they have redefined what it means to be British, effectively creating an ‘us versus them’ narrative, a classic tactic of divide and conquer.
These are, however, only the values of, as Revell and Bryan (2018) state, that particular government and its reactive attempt through the use of policy to define what it means to be British, which leads to the next criticism.
Are British Values British?
When reviewing the Fundamental British Values, nothing can solely be identified as uniquely British in nature. It could instead be argued that they are, in fact, not exclusive to being British and are shared by other democratic communities, societies and countries which want to foster a society where all citizens feel safe, valued and can positively contribute.
The point remains, however, as to why the name British Values was chosen. The government’s own Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement attempted to answer this when it stated during a hearing that the government does not intend the values to be read as exclusively British but more so as “things we value in Britain” and that Fundamental British values are a synthesised manner of presenting this.
This is furthered when they discussed that, in fact, the term British is used to get the citizens of this country to ‘value the values’ included within the programme. So in effect, as Revell and Bryan (2018) posit, British values are now being promoted through a specific political perspective and presented as if they are the values of the people of Britain when it could be argued that the government, through the use of of their interpretation of ‘British values’ are just attempting to promote a narrow view of what is true and accepted as what it means to be a citizen within these isles.
Moving forward
Considering the British Values strategy, it’s important to consider the criticisms raised about its effectiveness and purpose. Many professionals within the educational sector feel that the strategy’s lack of specificity leaves it open to interpretation, potentially leading to bias in its implementation. Furthermore, the strategy’s narrow and simplistic understanding of what constitutes “British values” fails to address the root causes of extremism, which is stated as part of its purpose.
One of the biggest issues with the British Values strategy is that it may target and stigmatise certain communities, particularly those that follow Islam. This is because the strategy’s definition of British values can be misinterpreted and misused to fully assert that those within this faith or any groups deemed that the bad actor considers as an ‘other’ align differently from the values held by the wider society. As such, there is a risk that the strategy could be used as a tool for discrimination rather than as a means of promoting unity and understanding.
To truly address the issues of extremism in British society, it’s important to take a more nuanced and inclusive approach to the British Values strategy as well as combating misinformation around high-risk groups. This means recognising that British values are not fixed or universal but are somewhat shaped by the diverse communities that make up British society. By acknowledging this diversity and working to incorporate a range of perspectives into the strategy, we can create a more effective and fair approach that truly reflects the needs and values of all British citizens.
At the heart of this more comprehensive approach is addressing the underlying issues contributing to extremist behaviour. This means looking beyond superficial indicators of extremism, such as religious affiliation or nationality, and exploring the social, economic, and political factors that may drive individuals towards violent or radicalised behaviour. Only by understanding and addressing these root causes can we hope to create a truly free society from the threat of extremism.
Of course, developing a more nuanced and inclusive British Values strategy is no small task. It will require significant investment in research, consultation, and community engagement. It will also require a commitment to ongoing evaluation and adaptation to ensure the strategy remains relevant and effective over time. Another factor required is political capital and will, which are currently not there.
However, the potential benefits of such an approach are clear. By embracing diversity and inclusivity, we can create a more cohesive and resilient society better equipped to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.
Reference list
Lynn Revell and Hazel Bryan, 2018, Fundamental British Values in Education: Radicalisation, National Identity and Britishness, London: Emerald Publishing.
Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement, 2018, The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century, available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldcitizen/118/118.pdf
Peter Clarke, 2014, Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from ‘Trojan Horse’ letter, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/340526/HC_576_accessible_-.pdf
Nottingham Education Network 
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