Senior SMSC Development Policy

At Sheffield Girls' we aim to develop pupils’ personal qualities in a spiritual, moral, social and cultural sense in all aspects of school life.

We place particular emphasis on helping pupils

• Develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence and emotional maturity
• Develop an appreciation of religious, philosophical and non-materialistic aspects of life
• Develop a sense of right and wrong and a respect for good conduct, moral and ethical values
• To accept responsibility for their behaviour
• To contribute to society through helping in the community or fundraising
• Understand and respect other faiths and cultures
• Develop a political and economic awareness
• Provide a balanced and open presentation of all political views.

See Appendix 1 for a description of each section and Appendix 2 for some of the ways we meet our aims. Departments are regularly asked to review how they contribute to the SMSC and Citizenship provision. This information is then kept by the Deputy Head.

Spiritual

The school aims to:

• Provide an environment where pupils can grow and flourish, respect others and be respected.
• Help pupils develop into self-assured, confident, happy, positive young people.

Pupils should then:

• Have respect for themselves and for others
• Have an awareness of their own and others’ beliefs, feelings, and values;
• Develop a set of values, principles and beliefs, which may or may not be religious, which inform their perspective on life and their patterns of behaviour
• Be able to articulate their feelings and justify them through discussion, debate, and presentations to others
• Be able to discuss topics such as discrimination, injustice and bullying
• Acquire the skills to be self-reliant and work independently or in a team
• Be willing to take on responsibility for their own actions
• Develop an increasing ability to reflect, and to learn from this reflection.
• Be able to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Moral

The school aims to:

• Enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong
• Help pupils develop an understanding of society’s agreed values and respect for the civil and criminal law.

Pupils should then:

• Have the ability to distinguish right from wrong
• Be able to think through the consequences of their own and others’ actions
• Be able to understand the impact that their own actions can have on others
• Have respect for others
• Have a willingness and the confidence to express their views on ethical issues and personal values
• Play a part in developing the school’s code of behaviour
• Enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England
• At all times actively promote the fundamental British vales of democracy , rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Social

The school aims to:

• Help pupils understand how to be responsible for their own behaviour
• Help pupils show initiative
• Create a strong school community where all pupils can make an important contribution
• Make links with the wider community

Pupils should then:

• Show respect for people, living things, property and the environment
• Work effectively and respectfully with other pupils
• Share their own views and opinions with others in a positive way
• Willingly and happily participate in activities
• Take part in democratic processes available to them
• Behave in an appropriate and sensitive way
• Develop the ability to work and live alongside those from different cultures and beliefs
• Reflect on their own contribution to society
• Have an understanding of political and ethical issues.

Cultural

The school aims to:

• Help pupils interact with pupils from other cultures and faiths in a positive way

Pupils should then:

• Be able to appreciate cultural diversity
• Be able to respect other people as set out in the 2010 Equalities Act
• Understand and respect other people’s values and beliefs
• Be tolerant of people with different cultural, religious, and non-religious beliefs and be able to interact with them.
• Be able to acquire a broad general knowledge of a respect for public institutions and services in England

Promoting British Values at Sheffield Girls' Infant and Junior School

The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated this year.

At Sheffield Girls' Senior School we uphold and teach the girls about British Values which are defined as:

• democracy
• tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
• rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect

In particular they can be observed through our promotion of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural understanding and our focus on our three core school values - Kindness, Positivity and Courage. 

Please see the Promotion of British Values and Prevention of Radicalisation Policy for more details.

APPENDIX 1

Spiritual development is the development of the non-material element of a human being. It is about the development of a sense of identity, self-worth, personal insight, meaning and purpose. It is about the development of a pupil’s personality.

Moral development enables pupils to build a framework of moral values, which regulates their personal behaviour. It is also about the development of pupils’ understanding of society’s shared and agreed values. It is about understanding that there are issues where there is disagreement and it is also about understanding that society’s values change. Moral development is about gaining an understanding of the range of views and the reasons for the range. It is also about developing an opinion about the different views.

Social development is about young people working effectively with each other and participating successfully in the community as a whole. It is about the development of the skills and personal qualities necessary for living and working together in harmony and making a positive contribution to the school community and wider society. It is also about functioning effectively in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society and developing into a tolerant and helpful human being. It also involves the development of the inter-personal skills necessary for successful relationships.

Cultural development involves helping pupils to develop an understanding of their own culture and other cultures both in their own community and more widely throughout the world. It is about understanding and feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures and being able to operate in the emerging world culture of shared experiences provided by television, art, theatre, travel and the internet. Pupils should value cultural diversity and prevent racism.

APPENDIX 2

Many aspects of SMSC are an integral part of what we are. The following lists show some of the ways we feel we promote pupils’ personal development in these areas.

SPIRITUAL

We

• Value pupils’ questions and encourage them to think through their ideas and concerns
• Recognise that teachers act as role models
• Ensure that in the school environment every child may reach their potential regardless of gender, race, disability, or other equalities issues
• Help pupils to be aware of their potential and support them to achieve it
• Provide opportunities for spiritual development through learning outside the classroom, eg drama, music, art, visits to museums
• Encourage pupils to explore and critically analyse what interests and inspires themselves and others
• Encourage pupils to reflect and learn from reflection
• Encourage individual endeavour and celebrate achievement and success, both within and outside the classroom eg through drama, sports, music and competitions
• Provide opportunities for pupils to develop leadership skills and challenge so they can take care of themselves and others, and develop self-reliance.

MORAL

We

• Provide a clear framework of values and behaviours which is promoted consistently throughout the school
• Give pupils opportunities across the curriculum to explore and develop moral concepts and values, such as right and wrong, justice and the law, personal rights and responsibilities
• Reward good insight and behaviour
• Teach pupils about the importance of being a good citizen
• Provide pupils with a knowledge of public institutions and services
• Discuss in an informed and balanced way breaches of agreed moral codes where they arise, and their impact on society and themselves;
• Discuss moral issues by studying eg literature and in assemblies

SOCIAL

We

• Foster a sense of community
• Encourage pupils to work co-operatively
• Encourage pupils to work in different group activities
• Encourage pupils to take responsibility for their actions, for example, respect for property, care of the environment, and developing codes of behaviour
• Encourage pupils to mix with pupils from different areas/cultures/faith
• Help pupils to develop personal qualities which are valued in society, for example, thoughtfulness, honesty, respect for difference and sound moral principles
• Provide opportunities for participating in different communities – for example, religious, cultural, local and global
• Provide opportunities for pupils to exercise leadership and responsibility;
• Ensure that through lessons and other formal and informal settings opportunities are provided for pupils to demonstrate initiative, develop their interests and organise activities for themselves and others.

CULTURAL

We

• Teach pupils about the importance of being a good citizen, respecting the fundamental British values of democracy
• Ensure that pupils are aware of their rights and the rights of others as human beings
• Provide positive and effective links with the world of work eg work shadowing, work experience, and visits from professionals, and the wider community eg school visits
• Provide opportunities for pupils to discuss political and ethical issues.
• Provide opportunities for pupils to meet and interact with people from other cultures
• Provide opportunities for pupils to participate in literature, drama, music, art, crafts and other cultural events
• Provide opportunities for pupils to link with children from other cultures eg pen friend (MFL)
• Develop partnerships with outside agencies and individuals to extend pupils’ cultural awareness e.g. foreign exchanges