The Riverside Journals - Festivals Issue 38 - FULL | Page 67

Promoting
Values in Schools
across Europe
alues-based Education, as a concept within schools, has had a growing profile as teachers
are increasingly seen within society as being responsible for the moral, social and personal,
as well as intellectual development of children. Of course, many teachers have always
seen themselves in this role. However, increasing pressure from government, parents
and society means that teaching children values such as empathy, compassion and the
courage to challenge themselves is now an integrated part of the ethos and educational
programme of many schools. This takes the development of the ‘whole’ child beyond the
PSHCE curriculum as dictated by the Department for Education.
In 2008, Dr Neil Hawkes founded the UK charity International Values-based Education
Trust (IVET) to promote Values-based Education (VbE) internationally. Research has found a wide range of benefits
from adopting such programmes; headteachers report that students gain self-esteem and self-worth, their behaviour
improves, they become more willing to get involved with decision making and they become more engaged with the
school. They have also observed that students gain a better understanding of themselves and the world around them
and there is a noticeable reduction in stress, anxiety and pressures on mental health for teachers and students.

The Royal Masonic School for Girls (RMS) has a well-integrated programme of Values education that runs through
the School. Since 2013, RMS has been leading a European-wide Comenius project entitled V.I.O.L.A. – Values In Our
Lives Always, to promote the benefits of a Values programme. Comenius is a European Union initiative to encourage
schools across Europe to work together. A successful project submission in 2012 resulted in the funding of €175,000
to RMS and partner schools in the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark and Austria.
Over the last t