SMSC

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC) is about everything we do at Harpenden Academy, to help children build their own personal values, have positive relationships with others and become responsible young citizens in society. SMSC development supports children to be kind, thoughtful and caring and to be able to live and learn alongside people with different beliefs, cultures and lifestyles.

Our provision for pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural and Emotional development (SMSC), builds on our values of our education.

An important part of SMSC is to support children to engage with British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and respect for different faiths and beliefs.

Spiritual Development

We want children to be reflective about their own beliefs, but also show interest and respect for the beliefs and faiths of others. We encourage children to reflect, not just on their own behaviour and the choices they make, but also on the skills needed to remain calm and focused on their learning.

Spiritual development is also about supporting children to be creative, imaginative and reflect on their learning experiences.

Opportunities for Spiritual development include:

• Learning together to value the ideas and contributions of all children
• Providing a varied and exciting curriculum that inspires children and makes learning enjoyable.
• Coming together in assemblies and special events to share learning with each other and with parents and the community to reflect on our learning experiences.

Moral Development

Opportunities for Moral development include:

• Children working together to discuss and agree on what they need to do to create a safe, friendly and inclusive environment for learning.
• Opportunities in the curriculum for children to offer their own points of view and to be able to listen to and value those of others.
• In every classroom and throughout the school environment, children are encouraged to make positive behaviour choices and develop strategies to manage conflicts effectively.

Social Development

We have developed our P.O.W.E.R an innovative whole school approach.  This explicitly teaches children the social and relational skills needed to learn effectively in a diverse community. (See 'The Curriculum')

Opportunities for Social development include:

• P.O.W.E.R across the curriculum and whole school skill focuses.
• Making a positive contribution to the community through fund raising, volunteering and engagement in community projects.
• Supporting children to develop the skills needed for living in a democracy through activities such as elections for School Council.

Cultural Development

Our WOW weeks and creative curriculum allow the children the opportunity to learn all about different lifestyles, backgrounds and beliefs other children have.

Opportunities for Cultural development include:

• Providing opportunities in the curriculum for children to visit places of worship and share their beliefs with others.
• Enabling children to enjoy and appreciate a variety of artistic, musical and cultural experiences, including drama, music, singing, choir and sports.

Year 6 and our topic of ‘Rich and Poor,’ November 2019

Wonderful visit from a family member of one of our pupils, sharing experiences about the lives of children in Zimbabwe (linked to our rich and poor topic)

Year 6, Peace Festival, October 2019

Harpenden academy Year 6 pupils hosted a Peace Festival Assembly inspired by the Harpenden Peace festival in September. This has been 100% written, driven and directed by the children using our value of the month INDEPENDENCE

Year 6, Frida Kahlo project, October 2018

Year 6 enjoyed making guacamole - a favourite Mexican dish- linking to our Frida Kahlo project. I was particularly impressed how many children initially claimed to not like avocado but tried the new dish and actually loved it! Well done for having open minds.