British Values
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)
At Fairfield Road Primary School, we recognise that the personal development of pupils, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally plays a significant part in their ability to learn and achieve. We therefore aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop their own values and beliefs, spiritual awareness, high standards of personal behaviour, a positive caring attitude towards other people, an understanding of their social and cultural traditions and an appreciation of the diversity and richness of other cultures. This is embedded throughout all aspects of school life.
Definitions
- Spiritual development is the development of the elements of pupils that animates and sustains us. It is about the development of a sense of identity, belonging, self-worth, meaning and purpose and the ability to reflect.
- Moral development is about the creation, largely by pupils, of a framework of values which regulates pupils’ behaviour, and about pupils’ understanding of society’s shared and agreed values. It is about acquiring an understanding of right and wrong, and being able to apply this understanding within and outside school. Moral development also includes pupils’ appreciation that different people hold different views on subjects, and being able to articulate their own opinions.
- Social development is the development of pupils’ ability to work effectively with each other in a school context, and participate constructively in the wider community. It concerns the acquisition of the skills and qualities necessary to live and work together. It includes developing an understanding of society’s institutions and pupils’ roles as citizens of the UK and the world.
- Cultural development is the development of pupils’ understanding and appreciation of their own and others’ cultures. It includes being able to live in a rapidly changing global culture, increasingly influenced by developments in travel, technological and communication, and being able to cope with the impact of such changes.
Aims
The aims of our SMSC education are:
- to ensure pupils’ education at Fairfield Road Primary School is holistic rather than focussed narrowly on purely academic aspects of learning.
- to provide pupils with a rounded education, including learning how to work and play together, understanding and respecting others’ points of view, respecting and applying rules and understanding why these exist.
- to prepare pupils to contribute to society and culture throughout their lives, and enable them to participate actively and positively in the life of the school, their local community and wider society.
- to encourage pupils to value themselves and their unique contributions to their own and others’ lives, and in turn to value and celebrate others and their qualities and abilities.
British Values
At Fairfield Road, we 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 in order to:
- enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
- enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
- encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely;
- enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;
- further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;
- encourage respect for other people; and
- encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.
We incorporate these values into our curriculum in many ways, such as:
- Including in suitable parts of the curriculum, as appropriate for the age of pupils, material on the strengths, advantages and disadvantages of democracy, and how democracy and the law works in Britain;
- Ensuring that all pupils within the school have a voice that is listened to, and demonstrate how democracy works by actively promoting democratic processes such as the selection of wellbeing champions whose members are voted for by the pupils;
- Using teaching resources from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths, and cultures.
All pupils, from Year One to Year Six, participate in weekly SMSC assemblies, including the use of Picture News, which links to British values. We teach the children the phrase, 'I really do matter' to help them remember the four values. Picture News selects a current news story, provides an image, a thought-provoking question and a variety of teaching resources, which we use during assembly time. The resources are designed to expose children to current affairs, discover their interests and bring the world closer to their everyday lives. The resources provide opportunities for children to learn from the world and develop respect for other’s beliefs, feelings and faiths. They encourage exploration, discussion, challenge and inspire children to learn.