British Values and SMSC
At St Mary's, we aim to be an exceptional school in which children can thrive & achieve their unique potential. To ensure that this happens, we provide a curriculum that is rich in Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development & which is underpinned by British Values.
British Values
We believe that our promotion of British Values underlies our Christian based ethos. It also enables our children to understand their role within the community & leave us in Y6 as well rounded young people ready to make their transition into secondary school – as well as into adulthood.
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and considered them to be:
- Democracy
- Rule of Law
- Responsibility & Liberty
- Mutual Respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.
Please click to read our British Values Overview to find out just some of the ways in which we promote British Values at our school.
British Traditions and Heritage
We celebrate the role of Britain both historically and in the present. We want pupils to have knowledge of & be proud of their British heritage and the cultural and historical traditions that we are renowned for the world over. This involves celebrating Royal events, Remembrance Day, festivals such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter (alongside those from other cultures, e.g. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Eid, Diwali and Chinese New Year). We also visit the local church for some of these celebrations.
We try hard to build a culture that will stand the test of time, where our pupils can become up standing & effective citizens. We teach our children to respect everyone regardless of any differences and aim to ensure that this is firmly embedded into the ethos of our school.
To find out what our school does in terms of the Prevent Strategy, please click to visit our webpage.
Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural (SMSC) Development:
At St Mary's, we believe that:
Spiritual development is about offering a spiritual and moral basis for the development of human wholeness and a sure foundation for personal and social values based on the person and ministry of Christ. As such, Spiritual Development incorporates feelings, emotions, attitudes and beliefs. As an inclusive school for all children with different or no beliefs, we believe that spiritual development also leads us towards the understanding of self and others.
Moral development is about building a framework of moral values for our children, which regulates their personal behaviour. It is the development of our understanding of society’s shared & agreed values, including an understanding that there are contentious issues where there is disagreement, and that society’s values change. Pupils are encouraged to understand the need for a common code and to follow it from conviction rather than because of sanctions or consequences.
Social development is about helping our children to work effectively with each other and to participate successfully in the community as a whole. It is about the development of the skills and personal qualities necessary for living and working together, as well as functioning effectively in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. We also promote how there should be a balance of the positive, satisfying elements of belonging to a group or society along with the demands, obligations and cooperation that such membership requires.
Cultural development is about our children understanding their own culture, other cultures in the UK & beyond. It is about understanding and feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures & being able to operate in the emerging world culture of shared experiences provided by television, travel and the internet. At the heart of cultural development lies the necessity to develop a sense of personal identity, whilst at the same time acquiring awareness, understanding and tolerance regarding the cultural traditions & beliefs of others.
Finding out more:
If you have any questions regarding our SMSC provision or promotion of British Values, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our St Mary's VIPs
Our 'St Mary’s VIPs' ensure that children have plenty of opportunity to consider excellent role models to aspire to often from underrepresented groups, such as BAME, women & Paralympians.
In this way, we feel that everyone at our school has access to people that look like them, started off like them & went on to do amazing things - just like we know they will!
Our St Mary's VIPs are used in the introduction of assemblies & lessons so that children can immediately access new information, make their own links as well as develop resilience & ambition as to what they can go on to achieve.
To find out more detail on Our St Mary's VIPs, please click below: