Children have lots of opportunities to share their views at Elmgrove. Our School Council meets regularly to discuss ideas from each class, and councillors are elected by their classmates, giving pupils real experience of democracy. The Council helps to shape positive changes in our school.

Children also vote in our House Captain elections, learning about fairness, responsibility and choosing leaders who will represent them well.

Each year, pupils complete a questionnaire to share their thoughts about school life. Their feedback helps us continue to improve what we offer.

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safety, through of provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our online safety and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Respect is one of our Golden Values at Elmgrove and every pupil understands that we respect and appreciate each other regardless of our differences. We are proud to be a multicultural and hugely diverse school with pupils and their families coming from many different countries, speaking over 48 different languages or dialects. Respect and tolerance for others is part of our day to day practice where our pupils and staff learn together and celebrate each other.

We offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected. We believe that tolerance is gained through knowledge and understanding, through our curriculum and the routines of our daily school life along with assemblies, PSHE lessons, a religious school visit each year and welcoming visitors from a variety of different faiths into school. Trips include visiting the local synagogue, church and mosque where customs are explained, and pupils have the opportunity to investigate and understand religions different to their own. Children are encouraged to relate different faiths and beliefs to their own values, respecting similarities and differences between them, including people of no faith.