Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural Education & British Values

Pupils line up in the playground

We are proud to be an Advocate School for Picture News.

Statement of Intent

Unlike specific curriculum subjects, Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC) focuses on the whole life of our school. This aspect of the children’s development is acknowledged, by all stakeholders, as being of fundamental importance to their education. It underpins all areas of learning and we aim to support pupils to develop their resilience, confidence and independence, thus preparing them for future success. Through SMSC and British Values work, we aim to equip our children for life in modern Britain and give them the tools to make positive contributions to society, develop an understanding and appreciation of the diversity within the world around them, and be respectful for the nine protected characteristics. Such development will be most successful when these values and attitudes are promoted by the staff, thus providing a model of behaviour for the children. SMSC and British Values support and reinforce the values of South Hiendley Primary School.

Implementation

Central to everything we do at South Hiendley Primary School, is teaching our pupils core values, which we share with children, staff and the wider community. Through our understanding of the 4 Ps: proud, polite, persistent and positive, we foster a holistic approach to the teaching of British Values and Social, Moral, Cultural and Spiritual education.  Staff and pupils strive to model our 4 Ps every day and these values underpin the expectations which we have for ourselves within our school, in the local area and within the wider world.
Our relationships are built upon being polite and developing an understanding of other people’s views, opinions, beliefs and interests. Our children show that they are persistent by working hard and persevering, even when they find things difficult. We are proud of our own and others’ achievements and celebrate our constant commitment to strive for excellence. We encourage a positive attitude towards all aspects of school life and support both staff and children in taking responsibility for the way their actions can affect others.
British Values are taught alongside our School Values. These are taught in assemblies each week, in conjunction with the Picture News resource. Themes are further explored and reinforced in individual classes with the children responding to the story/value and their comments and questions being collected by the subject leader and put into the school’s Picture News scrapbook.  A new School Value is focused on each week, with staff around school aiming to acknowledge and praise these.
Although SMSC and British Values are not taught in discrete lessons, the relevant skills are delivered through other curriculum areas so that pupils understand that they are central to daily life.

Impact

All our pupils understand the importance of SMSC and British Values, and the impact they can have on life both inside and outside school.
This is evidenced through regular pupil voice and monitoring of lessons and pupil books.

The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at South Hiendley are equipped with skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in the wider world.

SMSC

Spiritual Development relates to the quest for individual identity and the search for meaning and purpose in our existence. It is associated with a dimension of life which is not necessarily experienced through the physical senses, but has much to do with feelings and emotions, and attitudes and beliefs. Spiritual development is not solely linked to a particular doctrine or faith and is therefore accessible to everyone. All areas of the curriculum should contribute to a pupils’ spiritual development.

Moral Development is concerned with fundamental decisions about how we should behave and act and the reasons for such behaviour and decisions. It relates to the child’s developing understanding of what is ‘right’, ‘wrong’ and ‘fair’. Moral development in school tries to build upon the child’s experience in the home, accepting that there might be different approaches between home and school

Social Development is concerned with the skills and personal qualities necessary for individuals to live and function effectively in society. In school we build on and support the functions of the home and wider community by helping to prepare our children to live in society.

Cultural Development allows the child to recognise that all cultural groups are distinctive. Culture is the embodiment of shared beliefs, knowledge, customs and values of that group. The child needs to appreciate the distinctive features of their own culture and those of others. This will help children to answer the questions “Who am I?” and “Where do I fit in?”

The government set out their definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy. These were reinforced by the DFE in September 2014.

At South Hiendley Primary School, children will encounter these values throughout everyday school life; in particular, our promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural through our curriculum, vision and values.

The Fundamental British Values are:

  • Democracy
  • Rule of law
  • Individual liberty
  • Mutual respect
  • Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Being part of Great Britain

As a school, we value and celebrate being part of Britain. In general terms, this means that we celebrate traditions and customs throughout the year; including, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Day, May Day, Easter services and Christmas celebrations! We also value and celebrate national, charity and sporting events.

Learning about being part of Britain is also part of our school curriculum. In Geography and History, we ensure that the children have a better understanding of what Britain is, learning more about:

  • capital cities and countries, rivers and mountains
  • the local area, specifically the trade background of the town
  • how ‘Great Britain’ differs from ‘England’ and ‘the United Kingdom’ where Britain is in relation to the rest of Europe and other countries in the world
  • British history, Monarchs, rulers and significant events that defined society

Democracy

Children, parents and staff have many opportunities for their voices to be heard. Democracy is central to how we operate.

An obvious example is our School Council. The election of the School Council members reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action: candidates make speeches, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected representative, pupils vote in secret using ballot boxes etc. Made up of one representative from each class, the School Council meets regularly to discuss issues raised by the different classes.

Other examples of ‘pupil voice’ are:

  • children agree their Class Charter and the rights associated with these; all children contribute to the drawing up of the charter
  • using Pupil Feedback forms, children are asked to respond and reflect on the teaching and learning

Pupils are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. We encourage pupils to take ownership of not only their school but also of their own learning and progress. This encourages a heightened sense of both personal and social responsibility and is demonstrated on a daily basis by our pupils.

The Rule Of Law

The importance of rules and laws, whether they be those that govern our school or our country, are referred to and reinforced often, such as in assemblies and when reflecting on behaviour choices. At the start of the school year, each class discusses and sets its own ‘Class Charter’, a set of principles that are clearly understood by all and seen to be necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment.

Children 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. These values are reinforced in different ways:

  • visits from authorities such as the police and fire service;
  • during Religious Education, when rules for particular faiths are thought about;
  • during other school subjects, where there is respect and appreciation for different rules (in a sports lesson, for example).
  • participation in the Young Cadets programme (UKS2)

Individual Liberty

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our young pupils to make choices safely; for example:

  • choices about what learning challenge or activity;
  • choices about how they record their learning;
  • choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities.

Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely, such as in our e-safety lessons.

Mutual Respect And Tolerance Of Those With Different Faiths And Beliefs

Our pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have, and to everything, whether it is a school resource, a religious belief or something else. Children learn that their behaviour choices have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school and wider community should treat each other with respect.

This is also enhanced:

  • through Religious Education and other lessons where we might develop awareness and appreciation of other cultures;
  • in English through fiction;
  • in Art, Music and Cooking by considering culture from other parts of the world.

Picture News

As part of our values based curriculum, each week across school we look forward to our Picture News activities. Picture News allows the children to be aware of our wider world and reflect upon things they might never have thought about or experienced before. All children are encouraged to form their own opinions about each topic. We link these ideas closely with British Values and learn about life in modern Britain.
Each week they are introduced to provoking, open-ended questions, linked to current events and British values, through our Picture News assembly.
The focus question for the week is then followed up in the individual classes and children’s comments are collected and displayed in our school Picture News scrapbook.