SMSC Vision and Rationale

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural  education at Prince William School

 The Vision behind SMSC at Prince William School

The vision for Prince William School is to raise the aspirations of our students by nurturing a passion for learning, enriching their learning experiences, providing the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in adult life, and enabling them to secure outcomes which exceed their expectations.

We want to create confident, resilient and well-rounded adults who have an aspiration for self-improvement and are able to compete equally with their peers in a world beyond school life. We recognise that all students need to develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. This development allows them to make sense of their world. Our curriculum helps students develop an informed and balanced view on world events, beliefs and values of others. 

The Rational behind SMSC

At Prince William School the promotion of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is considered to central to their education. People form their values and attitudes in childhood. These may change over time, but those values and attitudes formed in early life are likely to have a strong influence on the adult person’s role as a citizen.

As a school, we have a duty to provide a positive influence whilst at the same time allowing students freedom of expression and the ability to reach decisions for themselves (conformity and challenge). The example set by adults in the school and the quality of relationships is of particular importance in promoting spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Aligned with this, we want our students to develop positive relationships with each other. This means informing and modelling good attitudes and behaviours towards each other and tackling peer-on-peer abuse. Through our curriculum students are reminded of positive behaviours towards each other and we track provision of this across subjects.

Our school’s tagline (‘Learning for Life’) and core values (that all student should be ‘Respectful, Ambitious, and Resilient’) support the importance of the growth and development of all aspects of SMSC within the school community.

We recognise that the personal development of students, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally, plays a significant part in their ability to learn and achieve.

Students encounter SMSC and British values in every aspect of school life; through their lessons, through assemblies, through whole school initiatives like charity days, through visiting speakers and presentations and through extra curricular activities. In recognition of this we track the provision of SMSC and British values across subjects as well as termly updates of this provision through assemblies, whole school initiatives, visiting speakers and extra curricular activities.

SMSC at Prince William School

We promote SMSC in the following ways:

Spiritual

This relates to the quest for individual identity and the search for meaning and purpose in our existence. It leads towards the understanding of self and others. It has to do with feelings, emotions, attitudes and beliefs. It is not linked solely to a particular doctrine or faith and spiritual development is therefore accessible to everyone. At PWS this may be done through:

• Exploring different beliefs & faiths.
• Studying the concept of identity.
• Allowing time for personal reflection.

Moral

Students are encouraged to understand the need for a common code and to follow it from conviction rather than because of sanctions or consequences. At PWS we work towards an understanding of what is right and wrong. From this basis students may develop the ability to make judgements and to become increasingly responsible for their own actions and behaviour. At PWS this may be done through:

• Asking and answering moral questions.
• Studying texts and exploring moral dilemmas that characters face.
• Using the ‘vote topic’ (tutor time activity) to explore big questions on current issues in a collaborative way.

Social

This enables students to become conscientious participants in their family, class, school, the local and wider community. Within this there should be a balance of the positive, satisfying elements of belonging to a group or society along with the demands, obligations and cooperation such membership requires. At PWS this may be done through:

• Collaborative learning.
• Raising awareness of social media and how to use it critically.
• Developing our oracy skills through class discussions.

Cultural

At the heart of cultural development lies the necessity to develop a sense of personal identity, whilst at the same time acquiring awareness, understanding and tolerance regarding the cultural traditions and beliefs of others. At PWS this may be done through:

• Recognition of the value and richness of cultural diversity in the UK and the influence of this on individuals and society.
• Developing an understanding of different cultural environments.
• Developing an understanding of the UK’s local, national and global dimensions.