Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development at Spa Bermondsey
At Spa Bermondsey, the promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British values, underpins our entire curriculum and is everyone's responsibility.
What is SMSC?
Spiritual
- Ability to be reflective about their own beliefs (religious or otherwise) and perspective on life
- Knowledge of, and respect for, different people’s faiths, feelings and values
- Sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
- Use of imagination and creativity in their learning
- Willingness to reflect on their experiences
Moral Development
- Ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, and to recognise legal boundaries and, in doing so, respect the civil and criminal law of England
- Understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions
- Interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues and ability to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues
Social Development
- Use of a range of social skills in different contexts – for example, working and socialising with other pupils, including those from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
- Willingness to participate in a variety of communities and social settings, including by volunteering, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively
- Acceptance of and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. They will develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain
Cultural Development
- Understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others
- Understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures in the school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain
- Ability to recognise, and value, the things we share in common across cultural, religious, ethnic and socio-economic communities
- Knowledge of Britain’s democratic parliamentary system and its central role in shaping our history and values, and in continuing to develop Britain
- Willingness to participate in and respond positively to artistic, musical, sporting and cultural opportunities
- Interest in exploring, improving understanding of and showing respect for different faiths and cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity. This is shown by their respect and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities
British Values
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
What does this look like in practice?
Teaching and development of these skills goes beyond our PSHE, RSE, Humanities and Social Communication curriculum, to underpin the teaching in all subjects as well as our ethos and values as a school community.
Spiritual development is fundamental for our pupils to develop tolerance and respect for each other. or example, our English curriculum has been reviewed to ensure the texts taught reflect the community we live in. Writing schemes are linked to the enrichment activities pupils' experience including visits from Circus Sensible, Ranger Stu and our Living Eggs.
Moral Development underpins our behaviour policy and the direct teaching we do to support pupils develop their emotional regulation. Pupils are explicitly taught about reactions and expected and unexpected responses, how their actions can impact on others and the importance of kindness and respect to build friendships. Social stories are used to teach about the perspectives of others.
The Social Development of all of our pupils is explicitly taught in social communication skills, personalised termly IEP targets and weekly communication targets. Pupils in KS4 and 5 have weekly Community lessons and pupils in KS5 have Life Skills lessons or take part in the Park College Link program so that they can practice using the skills they have been taught outside of the school setting. Our Cafe allows pupils to use their skills in a real-world work setting with members of the public.
Our School council allows us to directly teach skills linked to democracy. Classes vote for their school council rep and then collectively vote on the views they want shared. At the meetings themselves, decisions are made collectively. We always try to ensure that at least one meal on the school lunch menu has been suggested by the school council and we make sure decisions around playground equipment are led by the pupils.
Cultural Development underpins our enrichment planning in which we ensure that all pupils have access to a range of enrichment activities both at school and outside of school. We have a family event each term that families attend for free and with their knowledge that their child will be safe and fully understood. We have a Family Disco each December, a Family Pantomime in January and a Summer Farye in June. Our Variety Show is held each Spring term, showing off the range of talent we have in our school community. We have regular visits from our Owls, Living Eggs, Circus Sensible and Ranger Stu. We hold workshops led by the Globe theatre. Black History Month is celebrated each Autumn term and underpins activities in Art, English, Cooking and Music.
