"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum and all schools must show how well their pupils develop in these areas. We believe that we achieve thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through our approaches and teaching and deliver of a broad range of learning opportunities for SMSC, in partnership with parents and families.

SMSC is essential to the academic progress of pupils. It doesn’t happen in isolation – it permeates the school and is linked to everything we do and is supported and articulated by school leaders and governors and should be visible in all day-to-day decisions and relationships.

Spiritual development we explore beliefs and experiences; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about ourselves, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity and offer reflection in for example our collective worship, RE and PHSE and other curriculum opportunities and instil a sense of care for our local and global environment;

Moral development we learn to recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues without conflict, prejudice or bias; offer reasoned views through engaging with our Christian vision and 7 values and our behaviour policy (see behaviour curriculum and blueprint);

Social Development we use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; and begin to have an appreciation of ‘British values’ of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance (see ‘British Values’ information) through, e.g. our charity support, strong pupil voice representations (see all Junior Leadership Team) and work in the community;

'Rooted in God's love, everyone growing together to become the best that we can be'

Cultural Development we recognise all the rich diversity in our school and locality, appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s democratic parliamentary system; participate in many cultural opportunities and understand, accept, respect and celebrate difference (see culture calendar).