SMSC & British Values

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. At Sandwich Junior School, the teaching of SMSC is part of our Core Values and is taught across the curriculum and throughout the school day.

Spiritual development

Children explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy developing their understanding of themselves, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral development

Children learn to recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social development

Children investigate moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the 'British Values' of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

Cultural development

Children learn to appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

British Values

According to Ofsted, the fundamental British values are:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.

At Sandwich Junior School, we teach these values across the whole curriculum, during assemblies and throughout the school day.  We believe that modelling these values is key - tolerance and respect permeate our school culture.  Pupils elect their own School Council representatives and develop school and class rules. 

Through our provision of SMSC we have specific aims:

• To enable our pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
• To enable our pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of the UK.
• To encourage our pupils 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.
• To enable our pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in the UK.
• To promote further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling our pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.
• To encourage our pupils to show respect for other people.
• To encourage our pupils to show 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 the UK.

Understanding and knowledge promoted at Sandwich Junior School regarding SMSC and British Values:

• An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process.
• An appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety.
• An understanding that there is a separation of power between the executive and the judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence.
• An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law.
• An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.
• An understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination.

In order to ensure that SMSC and British Values are understood by pupils in the school, we ensure that we incorporate the following strategies:

• We strive to facilitate avenues for all pupils within the school to share their voice and have their views listened to, demonstrating how democracy works by actively promoting democratic processes such as a School Council ad House Captains whose members are voted for by the pupils.
• Wherever possible, in suitable parts of the curriculum and as appropriate for the age of the pupils, our teachers include material on the strengths, advantages and disadvantages of democracy, and how democracy and the law works in Britain, in contrast to other forms of government in other countries.
• On many occasions, our teachers take opportunities to hold mock discussions and debates to promote fundamental British values and provide pupils with the opportunity to learn how to argue and defend points of view.
• Teachers regularly make use of teaching resources from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths.
• Many of our extra-curricular activities, including any run directly by pupils, aid in promoting fundamental British values.