At Stone Hill, developing our pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) is at the heart of everything that we do.
SMSC is embedded within our school values, ethos, attitudes and relationships between staff, across all subjects, governors, pupils, families and the wider community.
Many of our pupils face struggles both at home and within their local communities, we therefore see it as our duty to make the difference. We achieve this by creating a great support network for parents and pupils as they progress through Stone Hill. This support continues as our pupils make the transition to further education. All staff are committed to inspiring and stimulating every child, equipping them with a love for learning and guiding them to grow and develop as unique individuals. We recognise and promote personal talents and strengths by constantly creating opportunities for our pupils to experience a variety of activities throughout their time at Stone Hill. Once pupils have identified an area of interest, there are many opportunities to develop and excel through participation in clubs, Sports Leaders Awards, Asdan and Duke of Edinburgh.
We are committed to promoting SMSC as we believe that the outcomes of the opportunities we provide pupils with will extend beyond school life, having a lasting impact on our pupils now and in the future. Ultimately, we want our pupils to leave Stone Hill as well-rounded members of their local communities, knowing how they can go on to make the difference, respecting and tolerating difference and wanting to be the best version of themselves they can possibly be.
Implementation
The promotion of SMSC development is the responsibility of everybody in school. All adults in school act as role-models to pupils; modelling behaviour and treating everybody with respect.
In lessons, teachers use teaching and learning strategies to promote SMSC:
- Building self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Discussion.
- Reflection.
- Pupil participation.
- Sharing thoughts and ideas with others.
- Identifying differences of opinion and celebrating these.
- Considering the needs of others.
- Showing empathy.
- Developing a sense of belonging.
- Encouraging learners to listen and talk to one another.
- Providing a culture where it is okay to agree and disagree.
- Ensuring pupils take turns, share resources and work co-operatively.
- Lower School uses Learning Behaviours to monitor pupil’s personal development.
- Upper School uses Skills Builder in order to monitor personal development.
As well as going on a range of school trips, pupils also enjoy welcoming visitors into school. They are taught to respect public services in England by meeting Police officers, Firefighters, prison officers, etc. They gain an understanding of how they can contribute to the lives of those living in their local communities by working on the school allotment to produce food for people in their local communities and raising funds for local community groups. Stone Hill also proudly has an excellent school council, with pupils from Yr3 up to Yr11 taking part, which actively participates in making whole school decisions. This enables pupils to develop an excellent understanding of how democracy works within our society.
Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is continually assessed and rewarded during their time at Stone Hill. Celebration assemblies, raffle tickets, star of the term, key stage trophies and Seesaw all create opportunities for teachers to reward behaviours that demonstrate our pupils’ personal development.
British Values
At Stone Hill, we promote the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. Our aim is to equip our pupils with the knowledge and skills to become successful members of society, fully prepared for life in Modern Britain.
Democracy
Our pupils are listened to and we teach them the importance of listening to and respecting the views of others. Pupils know that their voice is important; there are many occasions when they are asked to express their opinions, e.g., voting for changes to the playground and holding mock elections to elect school councillors, andattending regular school council meetings. Pupils develop a good understanding of the democratic process and how they can influence the decision making process.
The Rule of the Law
School rules are central to creating the warm and happy environment here at Stone Hill. Pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong. They learn that this is crucial to ensuring their own well-being and safety, both in school and in their wider communities.
Individual Liberty
Our pupils are strongly encouraged to make choices and they understand their rights and responsibilities. We provide clear and fair boundaries to ensure that these choices can empower our pupils. In class, teachers allow opportunities for pupils to have the freedom to decide how they would like to achieve a goal.
Mutual Respect & Tolerance
Respect is embedded throughout the ethos of our school. Pupils are respected by all adults and they are expected to show respect to everybody they meet. Our RE curriculum is key to ensuring our pupils learn how to embrace difference. During RE lessons, pupils learn about key religious celebrations from all over the world. Our pupils also take part in school visits to various religious sites which are perfect opportunities for them to learn that people who grow up in different places and who are exposed to different experiences may have different perspectives to themselves.
Click the link below to download the Curriculum Plan - 2023-2024