Effective SMSC Development

Richard Goodman - Assistant Head TeacherKim Tanjong Pendry – RE TeacherThe Venerable Bede CE Academy, Sunderland

Effective SMSC development

-Venerable Bede CE Academy as a model of good practice for SMSC development

-What is SMSC development?

-Why is SMSC development important?

-What have we done as a school linked to SMSC development?

-RE and SMSC development

-A focus on spiritual development

Model of good practice for SMSC development at

Venerable Bede Academy

Personal Development

Society Family

Self School

Schools are not the only actor responsible for pupils’ personal development. Education cannot, therefore, be expected to a fill a

moral vacuum left by society or family. But it can, and should, help those who receive it to make better sense of the world and

personally develop.

Fully developing the whole child – helping pupils grow and develop as people – preparing them for the adult

world – allowing pupils to make sense of the world

What personal development looks like in a school?

ProvisionThis is how the school develops

pupils – climate/soil

What does the school do to allow for SMSC/personal

development?

How do pupils develop skills/knowledge/understanding?

What are the standards of behaviour/behaviour policies?

Are there clear values/ethos?

OutcomesThis is how the pupils actually

develop – plant/flower

What does the student get from the school’s provision?

How do pupils respond/act/behave?

How do they show signs of personal development?

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENTFully developing the whole child – helping pupils grow and develop as people – preparing them for the adult world – allowing pupils to

make sense of the world – achieving their full potential

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development

Curriculum- All subject areas have a responsibility and the

potential to promote SMSC/personal development

Personal Relationships- Relationships between

all staff and students- Ethos and values of

the school-Behaviour and pastoral

care-Collective worship

Spiritual development

Pupils’ spiritual development can be seen through:

o The growth of their sense of self through reflection of their personal values, beliefs experiences, strengths and weaknesses.

o The exploration of the values and beliefs of others and the development of respect for these.

o A sense of passion, enjoyment, fascination and awe and wonder in their learning, and about themselves, others and the world around them.

o The use of imagination, creativity and expression of feelings and emotions in their learning allied with a willingness to achieve and do their best.

Moral development

Pupils’ moral development can be seen through:

o The ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and the willingness to apply this understanding to their own lives.

o An understanding of the consequences of their own and others’ actions and a readiness to accept the consequences.

o The exploration and investigation of moral codes, moral values and ethical issues within school and wider society and to apply their understanding of what the right thing to do is

Cultural development

Pupils’ cultural development can be seen through:

o An understanding and appreciation of the range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and development.

o A willingness to participate in, and respond to, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and other cultural opportunities and activities.

o An interest in exploring and showing understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity including how they accept, respect and celebrate diversity through their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.

Social development

Pupils’ social development can be seen through:

o An understanding of the rights and responsibilities of being members of families and communities (at a local, national and global level) and appreciating how these communities function.

o Developing their personal qualities and social skills through working in different social contexts including with pupils of different ages, abilities, gender, religious, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

o A willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively to work towards the common good

Why is SMSC development important?

The moral theorists Kant, Piaget and Kohlberg all believed that over time young people grow and develop morally and socially as well as spiritually and culturally.

‘The human being is not born as it is but grows and develops over time into an autonomous person’ Kant

Education legislation and SMSC

- The 1944 Education Act- The 1988 Education Reform Act- The 1992 Education (Schools) Act and the creation of

Ofsted- The Schools Inspection Act 1996, The Education Act

2002 and the Education Act 2005

Ofsted and SMSC

‘SMSC development is crucial for individual pupils and for society as a whole. Most teachers would see it as the heart of what education is about – helping pupils grow and develop as people. The importance has repeatedly been recognised by legislators; schools are required by law to promote pupils’ SMSC development and inspectors are required to inspect it’ (Ofsted 2004).

SMSC development as a limiting factor in Ofsted judgements

The 2013 Framework for School Inspection and the subsequent Inspection Handbooks highlight how the provision a school has for pupils’ SMSC development

has become a limiting factor in the overall effectiveness of the school and the quality of education it provides.

In order to make a judgement about the quality of education provided in the school, inspectors must first make four key judgements. These are: - the achievement of pupils at the school - the quality of teaching in the school - the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school.- the quality of leadership in, and management of, the school.

In addition, inspectors must also consider:- the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the school - the extent to which the education provided by the school meets the needs of the range of pupils at the school, and in particular the needs of: pupils who have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 pupils who have special educational needs.

Judging the quality of a school

the school ‘requires improvement’ as it is not a ‘good’ school because one or more of the four key judgements ‘requires improvement’, and/or there are weaknesses in the overall provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

the school is ‘inadequate’ and, if so, whether it has serious weaknesses, or requires special measures. A school with serious weaknesses is ‘inadequate’ in one or more of the key areas, and/or there are important weaknesses in the overall provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Similarly, a school can only be considered ‘outstanding’ if ‘the school’s thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their physical wellbeing enables them to thrive in a

supportive, highly cohesive learning community

What have we done as a schoolfor SMSC development?

‘Effective SMSC development is more than just good RE’

FARMINGTON FELLOWSHIP

First response – Q1:Excellent – 0%Good – 10%Satisfactory – 32%Poor – 43%No understanding – 15% Q2:Yes – 58%No – 42%

Second response – Q1:Excellent – 6%Good – 34%Satisfactory – 41%Poor – 19%No understanding 0% Q2:Yes – 89%No – 11%

Student Voice

RE and SMSC development

How does RE promote effective

SMSC development?

Curriculum contentExperiential learning

opportunities within RE

Nature of how RE is assessed

Curriculum Content links

Spiritual Development‘Who am I?’ ‘From life to death: where are we going?’ ‘Why is it hard to believe in God?’

Moral Development‘What is the best type of guidance?’‘What does justice mean to Christians?’ ‘Technology – beauty or beast?’

Social Development‘What are we doing to the environment?’ ‘How and why do people worship?’

Cultural Development‘What is Christianity?’‘Who am I?’, ‘What does it mean to be a Jew?’ ‘How should a mosque call its members to prayer?’

Nature of assessment within RE

AT1 – learning about religion

AT2 – learning from religion

Experiential learning opportunities within RE

RE themed competitions and projects:- Spirited Arts- Holocaust memorial week- DISC project (community)- Trinity project- RE Young Ambassadors- Pilgrimage project

Visitors within schools:- Sir Peter Vardy- Street Pastors- Holocaust survivor- Clergy and religious leaders- Gram Seed- YFC

Visits:- Durham Cathedral- Holy Island- Local places of worship comparison

Pilgrimage Project

Holocaust Memorial

A focus on spiritual development

MEd

What I wanted to know:• Do students identify with the Ofsted (2004)

definition of spirituality?• Do students consider themselves to be

spiritual?

MEdWhat I did:• Carried out a series of Community of Enquiries

with 2 Year 7 classes, 1 high ability and 1 low ability

A Community of Enquiry is a Philosophy for Children (P4C) approach that attempts to regulate dialogue in the classroom and ‘represents an explicit aspiration towards maintaining respect for other people while also agreeing, disagreeing, questioning and bringing others into the dialogue’ (Williams, 2012, p. 4). Williams suggests that the overall aim of a Community of Enquiry is for ‘individual participants to achieve better understanding, make better judgements and to be accountable to a community of peers’ (2012, p. 5).

MEd

Your spirituality is not something you can see

or touch. It is the thing that makes

you who you are and may or may not still exist

when you die. It is an understanding of

who you are, what you are worth and what your meaning and purpose is.

You could think of it as your ‘spirit’ or your ‘soul’ or your ‘personality’ or

‘character’.

‘A spiritual life is something you make for yourself but not by yourself’

First Stimulus Second Stimulus

Med

‘A spiritual life is something you make for yourself but not by yourself’

MEd

Year 7 Questions:

Do your parents help you make a spiritual life?How can you make a spiritual life?How can friends make a difference to a spiritual life?Are we good to have a good afterlife?Is your spiritual life after you die or now?How would it be your choice if someone helped you?Are we in a spiritual life now?

Can God help you make a spiritual life?What is a spiritual life?Who has a spiritual life?Is respect a spiritual life?

MEdWhat I found:• Students agreed that we all had an individual spirituality and

that this did exist (in some form) after death• Students linked spirituality to a process of learning from

mistakes and making the right choices • Religious students linked meaning and purpose to God and the

pursuit of a place in heaven• Non-religious students linked meaning and purpose to the

pursuit of happiness • Religious and non-religious students agreed that the way in

which we develop spiritually is linked to the way in which we treat others. For example; with kindness, generosity and forgiveness

• Students recognised that there was a connection between how they treated others and how they felt (inside) themselves

‘Spiritual development is not specifically about teaching children about spirituality, but is concerned with providing them with certain skills, space in the classroom and time for them to touch upon and, if needed, construct their own spirituality. They may then share this with their peers, connecting self to others’ (2012, p. 182).

Tools for spirituality and spiritual development Ng, Y. (2012)

Reflection Silence Contemplation

Discussion

Sharing Questioning

(Ng, Y. (2012) Spiritual development in the classroom: pupils and educators learning reflections, International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 17 (2), 167-185).

Community of Enquiry as a tool for spiritual development

RE Today, Blaylock (2012)

•Fostering personal and group reflection•Enabling pupils to build on their own and others’ identity•Encouraging pupils to reflect on their own and others’ beliefs, values and attitudes•Promoting an ethos of respect for self and others•Encouraging empathy and compassion

“Going back to Penny, you know what she said about being

happy? I think that if you are always happy you are never

gonna experience doing something wrong or making a mistake and people are saying

you get another chance to come back but everyone makes

mistakes, no one can be happy all their life.”

Spiritual Development and the Whole School

Tutor Worship – Reflection Diaries

Student led Worship

Key Stage WorshipDAY WORSHIP Y8

MON KS3 Hall SLT

TUE Y8 Student led Worship

WED Tutor Worship

THUR KS3 Hall SLT

FRI Tutor Worship