Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Studies
SMSC stands for – Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural.
SMSC education helps children develop personal qualities which are valued in a civilised society; for example, thoughtfulness, honesty, respect for difference, moral principles, independence and self-respect. At Yorkley Primary School we teach these qualities across the curriculum, discretely and throughout school life. It is interlinked to our school values and ethos.
Yorkley Ethos
- To include everyone
- To treat everyone equally
- Respecting all differences
- A commitment to healthy and open relationships
- A sense of purpose that things can change and be transformed
- To show perseverance, to keep going
We hold class elections for School Council and ECO committee members. This helps us to learn about democracy, planning a campaign, talking to the class, secret voting and then counting the votes cast. We think it was a fair way to select our members.
We are trying hard to recognise how the elements of SMSC that are implicit and explicit in our learning have an impact on how we develop as young citizens. We often have times when a topic has lent itself to debate and discussion that isn’t always recorded but still has an impact on our learning, understanding and opinions. To show this through our displays we have 4 symbols that we think as a school represent SMSC, we will also show British Values by a BV symbol.
Also, the teachers have been busy looking at their planning to really provide meaningful opportunities to deepen our learning through SMSC and Global links.
As a school, we are using Picture News as a way of promoting a wider view of the world we live in. Each week there is a current news story that as a class we can discuss, debate and share ideas and views on. Even class 1 are giving it a go!
It is a great way to broaden our experiences of the world around us both near and far, a way to explore our feelings and that of others, to have our opinions changed by thoughtful discussions and to have the time to develop who we are. Have a look at the links below to see what Picture News looks like.
