Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)

At Stanmore Primary School we believe that our whole-school vision, keys to success and BEST values reflect our intention to incorporate SMSC values into the very fabric of our school and daily life.

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC and at Stanmore we believe it is a vital part of our curriculum. We recognise that the personal development of children, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally, plays a significant part in their ability to learn and achieve. We want to give each child the opportunity to explore social and moral issues; develop a sense of social and moral responsibility and promote the British Values. We therefore aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop:

● Their own values and beliefs

● Their own spiritual awareness

● Their own high standards of personal behaviour

● Their team and collaborative skills

● A positive, caring attitude towards other people

● An understanding of their social and cultural traditions

● An understanding of democratic processes and the law in England

● An appreciation and acceptance of the diversity and richness of their cultures

● Their opportunities to experience other cultures

● Their ability to celebrate each other’s successes

● Their access to a range of educational visits

Spiritual Development

Exploring beliefs and experiences; respecting values; discovering oneself and the surrounding world; using imagination and creativity; reflecting meaningfully on their own actions and the actions of others.

Spirituality is shown at Stanmore Primary school by the children through their:

Ability to be reflective about their beliefs and the beliefs of others.
Respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values.
Sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them.
Appreciation of other cultures and heritages.
Imagination and creativity.
Sense of their place in the world beyond their immediate locality.

To encourage our children’s Spiritual Development we:

Hold daily assemblies to allow children to feel the sense of belonging to their Stanmore Family.
Have whole school access to grounds during lunchtimes, mixing age ranges.
Encourage reflection in all aspects of learning.
Run a topic based curriculum that draws on a sense of wonder and fascination about the world around them.
Promote an awareness of different cultures through Religious Education and PSHE lessons.
Provide reading material that develops understanding of different cultures.
Provide quiet spaces around the grounds for children to reflect and think.
Encourage the use of creativity and imagination.
Include all children in House Teams / families to eat together once a week and sit with each other during celebration assemblies.
Provide key curriculum enrichment opportunities throughout children’s time at Stanmore.

Moral Development

Recognising right and wrong; understanding consequences; investigating moral and ethical issues; offering reasoned views.

Moral Development is shown at Stanmore Primary school by the children through their:

Use of the Keys to Success and BEST values (Confidence, Resilience, Organisation, Persistence, Cooperation, Belonging, Excellence, Support, Trust)
Use of Class charter and regular opportunities to discuss issues through their Class Speak representatives.
Following the school behaviour code, which promotes high expectations in all aspects of school life.
Earning of House Points for excellent attitudes to learning.
Role of Year 6 Play PALS who are responsible for being key role models on the playground and offering children someone to talk to if they are lonely or upset.
Contribution to a passionate school council who meet regularly and take on board ideas from all the pupils.
Taking part in SMSC and PSHE lessons that look at right and wrong as well how we should treat people who seem different in us.

To encourage our children’s Moral Development we:

Use our Keys to Success to promote responsibility.
Use and display class rules or charters.
Offer weekly celebration assemblies to promote and celebrate our Keys to Success.
Facilitate our Student Council to have an active role in school.
Use key texts in English lessons that encourage children to think about different people and situations.
Offer a strong PSHE and SMSC curriculum that runs through the curriculum.
Provide the chance for pupils to investigate, discuss and offer reasoned views about moral and ethical issues.
Promote inclusion that meets the needs of all children, enabling children to be the best that they can be.
Ensure children and parents recognise and value the learning partnership between all stakeholders, including the community.

Social Development

Using social skills in different contexts; working well with others; resolving conflicts; understanding how communities work. Social Development is shown at Stanmore Primary school by the children through their:

Participation in extracurricular clubs.
Use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different socio-economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Understanding of the language used when dealing with conflicts and the ability to use their words to express their emotions.
Participation in a range of fund raising activities such as NSPCC and Red Nose Day.
Awareness of how to be a responsible digital citizen and the possible dangers of the internet.
Understanding of how to take good care of the environment and how to make sustainable choices.
Ability to demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.
Strong pupil voice which is represented through SPEAK, our student council.
Ability to cooperate and collaborate with others on projects in school.

To encourage our children’s Social Development we:

Use an enrichment programme to support classes and individuals with social and emotional development.
Provide additional support for children with emotional learning needs including ELSA, social circles and talk groups.
Support our YR children to visit local care homes.
Provide a range of extracurricular clubs where children are able to work alongside children from other year groups.
Promote recycling and environmental initiatives
Facilitate the cycle proficiency programme for children in year 5.
Explicitly teach and provide opportunities to discuss e-safety and how it may affect them and others.
Provide a robust transition program both between year groups and also for Yr6 children transitioning to secondary school.
Implement a clear SMSC and PSHE curriculum, in addition to incorporating diversity and issues of equality through all topics.

Cultural Development

Appreciating cultural influences; participating in culture opportunities; understanding, accepting, respecting and celebrating diversity; understanding current issues around the world. Cultural Development is shown at Stanmore Primary school by the children through their:

Participation in a democratic voting system when choosing Pupil SPEAK representatives.
Ability to discuss art and artists around the world.
Participation in a creative curriculum that delivers topics that promote links to different cultures and communities.
Participation in sporting activities that allows competition with other schools.
Resilience and independence that is preparing them for life in the future.
Understanding of different cultures and faiths in Britain and around the world and the effect these have had on their heritage.
Understanding of British Values and how they impact on their lives.
Respect for cultural diversity and an awareness of different ethnic and socio economic groups in local, national and global communities.
Understanding of significant events from other religious calendars.

To encourage our children’s Cultural Development we:

Have developed a curriculum that allows children to understand and discuss different communities and cultures.
Provide curriculum enrichment activities to promote independence and provide aspirational experiences for the children.
Enable year 4 and year 6 children to take part in overnight residentials where they can cope independently and problem solve for themselves to better prepare themselves for life as a young adolescent.
Provide high quality reading material and a curriculum that supports children to respond creatively and imaginatively
Developed links with external stakeholders – including the local church, local artists and secondary schools.
Provide areas around school where creative artwork and writing can be celebrated.
Encourage children to take part in our Sports programme that allows competition with and against pupils from other schools and contexts.