Fundamental British values in the early years

The fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Separately, the Counter Terrorism and Security Act also places a duty on early years providers "to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism" (the Prevent duty). You can view statutory guidance on the Prevent duty.

To help demonstrate what this means in practice, the following examples have been worked up based on what is in the statutory guidance. They are only examples and not exhaustive, but hopefully useful to you.

Democracy: making decisions together SHOW


Rule of law: understanding rules matter as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development SHOW


Individual liberty: freedom for all SHOW


Mutual respect and tolerance: treat others as you want to be treated SHOW


What is not acceptable? SHOW