SMSC

What is SMSC?

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC.

Our school considers SMSC throughout all of our subjects, but we also arrange special events to highlight the individual elements throughout the year:

Spiritual

Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral

Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social

Use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the 'British values' of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

Cultural

Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

Spiritual
 
Through our RE teaching and a wider range of experiences, we encourage the children to explore and discuss their views about different faiths. We have regular visits from Reverend Michelle, who takes a weekly assembly, and the children participate in Open the Book assembly each Tuesday, led by volunteers from the local church.
 
We hold services to celebrate Harvest, Christmas and Easter and an act of Remembrance on Remembrance Day. We have visited a mosque and the cathedral in Gloucester and a Hindu temple in Cardiff so that the children could compare the different places of worship.
 
A weekly yoga and mindfulness club is held on a Friday lunchtime.
Moral
 
We want the children at Ellwood to become responsible members of the community, who know right from wrong and understand the consequences of their actions.
 
In addition to the PSHCE curriculum, we organise other experiences such as Internet and Road Safety talks and assemblies and the local PCSO drops in regularly.
 
 
Social
 
At Ellwood, we believe that it is important for the children to develop their social skills and to begin to take responsibility for their role in the local and wider community. They are given the opportunity to serve on the School Council, participate in local competitions and events and represent the school at a wide range of sporting events, concerts and competitions.
 
Some of the events this year include a Talent Show organised by the School Council to raise money for the British Heart Foundation; the choir has performed twice at a local charity's Christmas and Easter parties; some of the children from Willow and Sycamore classes sang at a Young Voices concert in Birmingham Genting Arena and two of the Year 6 girls participated in the Knex Challenge final in Gloucester.
 
We regularly invite parents in to share in school life. We hold Parents in Schools weeks, Healthy Breakfasts and class assemblies - all of which give the children the opportunity to improve their social skills and share what they have learnt with the wider community.
Cultural
 
At Ellwood we enjoy finding out about life in other cultures through both topic and special celebratory days. We also have a link with a school in St Hilaire, which is twinned with Coleford, and the children are exchanging letters written in French.
 
In September each class celebrated European Day of Languages by looking at some aspects of different countries. We learned some of the language, tried different foods, located the countries on a map and the older children made posters to show what they had learnt.