Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

Askern Moss Road Infant Academy is a school which seeks to develop confident, independent, caring and enquiring individuals who are prepared for the future. We believe in fostering life long learning through providing an environment that values mutual trust and respect, honesty and equality and seeks to develop everyone’s potential. We provide excellent learning opportunities for all and celebrate the successes of individuals and the whole community.

The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is considered to be ‘a whole school issue’. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development is promoted not only through all the subjects of the curriculum but also through the ethos of the school and through the development of positive attitudes and values.

It is not taught as a lesson, rather subject leaders identify opportunities for SMSC across the curriculum; for example, it may be part of Religious Education, Physical Education, Personal, Social and Health Education. In addition, SMSC is a key part of the ethos of the school which children experience on a daily basis.

SMSC is now highlighted by government as a key means of promoting basic British values and counteracting the development of religious extremism in some school settings.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their:

• beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life & their interest in & respect for different people’s feelings & values
• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning
• willingness to reflect on their experiences

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Pupils’ moral development is shown by their:

• ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and their readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives
• understanding of the consequences of their actions
• interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Pupils’ social development is shown by their:

• use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
• willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively
• interest in, and understanding of, the way communities and societies function at a variety of levels

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their:

• understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage
• willingness to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities
• interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities

PROMOTING BRITISH VALUES

The fundamental British Values, first set out in the Government’s Prevent Strategy, are

• Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual Respect and tolerance.

When working with young children in Nursery, Reception, Year One and Year Two, these values need to be meaningful and age appropriate. We believe that fundamental British Values are already very well embedded in all that we do with our children here at Askern Moss Road Infant School.

At Askern Moss Road Infant Academy, these values are regularly promoted through:

• high quality teaching
• all areas of learning
• a rounded programme of assemblies
• our PSHCE curriculum
• Our Golden Rules
• Our Behaviour Policy
• Anti-bullying policy
• RSE policy
• Our RE and Multicultural curriculum and associated activities.
• Themed weeks.
• SMSC
• The School Council

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

DEMOCRACY

School Council

Our School Council consists of two members from each class who, following an election process are nominated and voted for. They meet regularly to discuss social and moral issues along with making decisions about some aspects of school life. The areas for discussion are then fed back to the rest of the class where they can all share their views and thoughts. Our pupils’ voice is listened to, valued and acted upon.

Participation

We encourage participation in school life by encouraging children to take on responsibility for particular tasks such as Playground Friends, classroom monitors, gardeners etc. They are able to work cooperatively in pairs and groups as well as in whole class situations to carry out tasks

Pupil Views

Views are solicited though the school council process and through pupil surveys. Each class develops and sign up to class rules based upon agreement about what they would like their classroom to be like and how they would like people to contribute and behave. Our children also have individual/personal targets which they work on and try to achieving their ‘Gold for Gold ‘ certificates. The children are clear on what they need to improve.

PSHCE lessons

Democracy is promoted in Circle Time and PSHE sessions where children are given lots of opportunities to listen to and show respect for other people’s point of view. They take turns to speak and to listen to each other. They learn that it is never OK to put people down and that everyone has the right to an opinion.

RULE OF LAW

Golden Rules and Behaviour Policy.

Our Golden rules are the means by which we make our positive Behaviour Policy explicit to our children. Through our Golden Rules, which are introduced in Nursery, our children are continually taught to recognise the difference between right and wrong.

Our Golden Rules are the moral values that inform and develop the ethos of our school. These rules are very special to us because we want our school to be a special place where being gentle, kind, honest, hardworking, and careful and a good listener is valued and encouraged. These rules are our vision of the kind of people we should all try to be in order to make a positive contribution to our school community and to society.

We constantly reinforce our high expectations in terms of our children’s behaviour and our children know that these rules are there to protect everyone and that there are consequences when these rules are broken. If one is broken, however, it is possible to make a fresh start and try your best not break it again. There are also rewards when children try really hard to keep all our Golden Rules. These are celebrated in assemblies.

Assemblies/RE/PSHCE.

Children are taught, though stories, Circle Time, role play, special visitors, and performances to develop a strong sense of morality and to recognise what is right and wrong and why. They are encouraged to choose to do the right thing even when it may be difficult and to consider the impact of their actions upon others.

INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY

Individual interests.

Our children have opportunities to follow their own interests through extra-curricular clubs.

They can often choose the activities they wish to engage in and the direction in which they want to take their learning.

Personal Safety.

Our children are taught how to keep themselves safe. They learn about road safety, stranger danger, good touch/bad touch, e safety, playing safely and know what to do and who to speak to if they ever feel unsafe. This is taught through computing lessons, PSHCE, Circle Time, assemblies, visitors and theatre performances.

Anti-Bullying

Our children are taught that any kind of discrimination is wrong and that everyone is special, unique, valued and respected.

Making choices.

Within our school children are encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe supportive environment to enable them to do this. In PSHCE, assemblies and as opportunities arise, we discuss different choices and encourage them to make the right choices.

Our Behaviour Policy and our Golden Rules provide an excellent forum for discussion around their behaviour (good and bad) in school. Children can also reflect on their choices and the effect that this has on their peers and on adults.

They are given opportunities to resolve conflicts effectively and fairly. They understand that actions have consequences and that they have responsibility for these. When supporting children through friendship disagreements and behaviour incidents, they are supported to reflect upon their actions, to make good choices and to consider the consequences of their actions.

MUTUAL RESPECT AND TOLERANCE

Our whole school ethos is built around mutual respect, underpinned by our Golden Rules. We believe that respect is a vital component of moral development. We encourage open discussion, particularly in PSHE and Circle Time. Our pupils’ behaviour demonstrates their understanding of this value in action.

Inclusivity

We are a fully inclusive school where everyone is valued and has a contribution to make.  We encourage our children to be cooperative and collaborative, be supportive and to look for similarities whilst being understanding of differences.

We have high expectations about pupil conduct and this is reflected in our approach to behaviour and equality.

Our pupils are encouraged to think and care about others and they often take part in charity fund raising events.

We celebrate the achievements of all.

Independence

Our pupils are encouraged to become independent learners and to think for themselves. They are involved in many aspects of school life. They are involved in curriculum planning and encouraged to follow their own interests and line of thought.. They are encouraged to freely access resources to support their learning.

Tolerance

Tolerance of different cultures, faiths and beliefs is promoted through the Local Syllabus for RE.

The RE curriculum is carefully planned to equip children with the knowledge which will enable them to understand the diverse nature of people’s beliefs. Children learn about different religions, their beliefs, and places of worships, books and significant figures. They visit different places of worship and celebrate different religious festivals. They are able to talk about different faiths and cultures and show tolerance and respect for diversity of faiths, religions and cultures.

We help our children to understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

Themed weeks.

We have special themed weeks in school where children learn about other countries, cultures, festivals and celebrations. These weeks include a wide range of activities (food tasting, dance, role play, music, displays and artwork) which children participate in to enhance their learning. Our children can explore aspects of the wider world and develop an understanding of cultural diversity.

Some of the other things that we do and promote on a daily basis:

• Taking turns to speak and listen.
• Being kind, helpful and respectful of others.
• Table manners.
• Learning about our heritage and history.
• Teaching empathy and understanding.
• Appropriate behaviour and learning right from wrong.
• Taking turns and sharing.
• The British weather and our seasons.
• Being part of the local community through outings and partnerships with other schools
• Making friends and friendship.
• Tolerating others and showing respect.
• Cooking, eating and learning about British food.
• Celebrating and reading books by British authors and illustrators.
• British festivals – Valentine’s Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mothers’ day, Fathers’ Day. Easter, Advent, Halloween, Bonfire night, Remembrance Day, Harvest festival, Christmas.