Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think” – Margaret Mead

At Lea Community Primary School, SMSC lies at the heart of everything we do. As a school, we believe in building a community of confident, responsible, caring, compassionate, respectful and highly motivated children who strive to achieve far beyond their education. We value the importance of children developing personally into strong, active and tolerant members of society who are able to take their place in the wider world and go on to great and exciting things.

Our school curriculum and provision is planned to support this, and enriched with a wealth of opportunities for pupils to learn and play together, to take part in a wide variety of cultural and extra curricular activities, and to mix with people of other ages, cultures and faiths in order to develop understanding and interest in the wider world and community. Lea Community Primary offers all children a wealth of opportunities to engage with, and learn about events and key days that enrich their SMSC development from reception all the way through to Year Six.

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural and is described in the table below.

SPIRITUAL

The spiritual development of pupils is shown by their:

ability to be reflective about their own beliefs, religious or otherwise, that inform their perspective on life and their interest in 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

The moral development of pupils is shown by their:

ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing, 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

The social development of pupils is shown by their:

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 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 develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

CULTURAL

The cultural development of pupils is shown by their:

understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and those of others
understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain
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, as shown by their tolerance and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.

In order for our children to develop their SMSC understanding, at Lea Community Primary, we are constantly rewarding and highlighting the key skills and values needed to develop into a well-rounded British citizen. We therefore promote ten positive values which are at the heart of personal development at Lea Community Primary. These values are used in a variety of contexts, including assemblies and within lessons. Regular assemblies are held to focus on one value at a time when we celebrate children who have demonstrated this positive value. As a reward, and using a democratic vote approach to decide the winner, a child from each class is then given a 'value bear' to look after until the next value winner is announced.

Our values

Responsibility

Tolerance

Determination

Courage

Empathy

Pride

Honesty

Respect

Resilience

Kindness

Value of the Month

Respect

SMSC calendar

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