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SMSC / British Values

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum.

The following is from the DFE:

All maintained schools must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils.  Through ensuring pupils’ SMSC development, schools can also demonstrate they are actively promoting fundamental British values.  

Meeting requirements for collective worship, establishing a strong school ethos supported by effective relationships throughout the school, and providing relevant activities beyond the classroom are all ways of ensuring pupils’ SMSC development.

Pupils must be encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance.  

 It is expected that pupils should understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. The school’s ethos and teaching, which schools should make parents aware of, should support the rule of English civil and criminal law and schools should not teach anything that undermines it. If schools teach about religious law, particular care should be taken to explore the relationship between state and religious law.  

Pupils should be made aware of the difference between the law of the land and religious law. 

At Shirley Junior School, we cover lots of the SMSC areas through assemblies: please see the attachments below to see the type of assemblies that are delivered each term.