SMSC  development at Hornsea Community Primary School

At HCPS we recognise that the personal development of children – spiritually, morally, socially and culturally (SMSC) – plays a vital role in not only their ability to learn and achieve but in their ability to relate fully to, and have the ability to, access the world they live in. We therefore aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop in these areas.

Our curriculum is designed to enable children to reach their full potential whilst exploring and developing their own values and recognising that those of others may differ. A wide-range of opportunities and strategies are used for SMSC development. They can be delivered in formal lessons as well as through whole-school events and activities; promoting shared beliefs, spiritual awareness, high standards of personal behaviour including 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. These are all critical skills and dispositions that we nurture, encourage and develop through our curriculum and wider opportunities.

The National SMSC Quality Mark at Gold level.

 “The SMSC Quality Mark is the outcome of work undertaken between The Citizenship Foundation and schools.” Our school as a whole was required to think about the kind of people we aspire to be, the kind of world we aspire to create, and the kind of education we aspire to provide. Through high quality SMSC education and activities we were able to show how we have the opportunity to nurture reflectiveness in school, and that we enable our children to make wise and appropriate choices that will prepare them for life in modern Britain. We recognise that SMSCis important because it has the potential to raise aspirations. It can also develop empathy, deepen spirituality, connect young people with their communities and develop their core values. It creates opportunities for pupils to learn and practise human virtues and values such as compassion, hope, faith and forgiveness. Ofsted puts SMSC ‘at the heart’ of school development. At HCPS it is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development for pupils across the whole of our curriculum.