SMSC & British Values

At St Paul’s C of E, SMSC is promoted not only through all of the subjects in our curriculum, but also through our Christian vision, values and ethos which permeate all aspects of school life. We aim to provide opportunities for our children to form their own identity and sense of place and purpose; giving them the confidence to question and discover who they are in the world and face the exciting challenges that lie ahead. Alongside this we teach children to reflect on British Values, linked to our Christian Values.

Our children are actively involved in raising money for a variety of events throughout the year such the World Mental Health Day, events for MacMillan Cancer, Operation Orphan, SASH and Children in Need. This enables pupils to develop key skills to equip them to be courageous advocates for the common good, locally and globally.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)

The spiritual development of pupils is demonstrated by their:

• ability to be reflective about their own beliefs, religious or otherwise, that inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values in the increasingly diverse world around them.
• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them.
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning.
• willingness to reflect on their experiences.

The moral development of pupils is demonstrated by their:

• ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England.
• understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions.
• curious about and interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues and ability to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues.

The social development of pupils is shown by their:

• use of a range of social skills in different contexts, for example working and socialising with other pupils, including those from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
• willingness to participate in a variety of communities and social settings, including by volunteering, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively.
• acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; they develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

The cultural development of pupils is shown by their:

• understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and those of others.
• understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain.
• knowledge of Britain’s democratic parliamentary system and its central role in shaping our history and values, and in continuing to develop Britain.
• willingness to participate in and respond positively to artistic, musical, sporting and cultural opportunities.
• interest in exploring, improving understanding of and showing respect for different faiths and cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their tolerance and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the local, national and global communities.

British Values

British values are embedded in the work of the school and they are defined as:

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

At St Paul’s C of E, British Values are promoted through our curriculum, but also through our Christian vision, values and ethos. We aim to provide opportunities for our children to develop the confidence to question and share their own opinions about the world around them. We believe in teaching our children to have sound values with an emphasis on respect for others, mutual understanding and a celebration of diversity.

During the General Election in 2019, we held our own elections across school and invited children to write their own manifestos, before voting for who they would like to see as 'Class Prime Minister'. Our School Council collected the votes and counted them and our Class Prime Ministers were later announced. Our Class Prime Ministers have had a 'day in the life' of a headteacher and spent the day running the school. They planned an Art Day, looked at developing Playground Games, met with School Council and planned and delivered a worship linking British Values to our Christian Values. Later in January 2020 our Class Prime Ministers delivered a worship on Brexit with the title, 'Should we let our opinions divide us?' again linking our Christian Values to British Values.

Picture News

At St Paul’s CE we use Picture News and have become a Picture News Advocate School. Picture News is designed to provide opportunities for children to learn from our world and develop respect for other’s beliefs, feelings and faiths. It encourages exploration, discussion, challenge and inspires our children to learn. We use this weekly as part of our collective worship to provide a window to the world through a thought provoking image and question, which we then display on our Class Reflection Tree. Each news story is linked with one of the British Values and UN Rights of a Child so that children have a greater understanding of these important values.