SMSC

SMSC

Spiritual Moral Social Cultural at George Salter

We are immensely proud of our Kitemark Award as a School of Character and our Salter Scholar Programme. 

We recognise and actively promote a range of Spiritual Moral Social and Cultural experiences across the curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities at George Salter Academy.  

 We aim for SMSC to be outstanding at George Salter and understand this to mean that:

‘The school’s curriculum promotes and sustains a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning. It covers a wide range of subjects and provides opportunities for academic, technical and sporting excellence. It has a very positive impact on all pupils’ behaviour and safety, and contributes very well to pupils’ academic achievement, their physical wellbeing, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.’

We follow the Ofsted guidance when defining what SMSC means at George Salter Academy.

The spiritual development of pupils is shown 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
  • 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 shown by their:

  • ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong, readily apply this understanding in their own lives and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England
  • understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions
  • interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues, and being able 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, including working and socialising with pupils 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; the pupils 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 that 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, 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 socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.

How we champion SMSC at GSA: an overview

  • One World in One School:  our ethos informs our ‘academic’ curriculum concepts and our wider ‘personal development’ curriculum.
  • Weekly assemblies:  these involve SLT, staff and student presentations and correspond to SMSC, Citizenship and British Values themes.
  • The Salter Scholar: All students participate in our Salter Scholar Programme:  enrichment, guest lectures, interhouse competitions, educational visits, leadership opportunities and additional qualifications
  • Broad and balanced curriculum:  all students participate in a National Curriculum compliant curriculum in all areas.   Students choose options at the end of Year 9 and follow a full physical, creative and performing arts curriculum for three years.  They may choose to continue to do so in Key Stage 4.
  • RE and PSHE: all students have a dedicated weekly lesson of RE and a lesson of PSHE every week.  In post 16 all students have a weekly lesson of PSHE.
  • Votes4Schools:  a weekly tutor time debate for all students on a global, national or regional theme
  • Student Council:  leadership roles for students led by the post 16 leadership team which impact on academy provision in the wider sense.
  • Charity work: a structured approach to charity fund raising and awareness campaigns, e.g. The Big Sleep Out, MacMillan Coffee Mornings
  • Student Leadership:  all students in Years 7-11 participate in an additional leadership opportunity as part of the Salter Scholar Programme.
  • In the curriculum: departments have audited SMSC in their schemes of work and seek out opportunities to highlight these in their provision.
  • British Values are addressed through curriculum planning, assemblies, PSHE curriculum map, Votes 4 Schools, tutor time activities, work for charities, social action programmes (IWiLL, WEWiLL)