Spiritual, Moral and Cultural Development (SMSC)

Spiritual: The opportunity to explore beliefs, experience and faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity and reflect on experiences. 

Moral: The opportunity to learn what is right and wrong and respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues and offer reasoned views. 

Social: The opportunity to use a range of social skills to participate in the local community and beyond; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict. 

Cultural: The opportunity to explore and appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in cultural opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity. 

Understanding ‘British values’ is an essential aspect of SMSC which is promoted at every Key Stage through the children’s SMSC development, the curriculum and school leadership. 

The fundamental British values are: 

• democracy 
• the rule of law 
• individual liberty 
• tolerance and respect 

SMSC leadership, teaching and experiences are woven through our school curriculum with Personal, Social, Health Education schemes of work delivering a real focus. Personal, social and health education is a fantastic area of the curriculum that underpins most of what we do at Libra. It includes everything in school to promote our children’s good health and wellbeing. PSHE provides opportunities for children to develop knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour which will enable them to become motivated, independent and successful learners and effective citizens both within and beyond school. It teaches them how to stay safe, look after themselves and their relationships; make good food choices, see the importance of leisure activities and exercise, recognize some money matters, think about careers plus it also gives strategies to develop emotional wellbeing. 

Sex and Relationships Education is embedded within the PSHE and the Science curriculum. It begins with very young children recognising their own value and uniqueness and how wonderfully clever their bodies are. 

The Citizenship curriculum encourages children to understand that every person matters and that respect for people, communities and our environment are important and have many positive outcomes. Citizenship education is a key element of SMSC with a focus on British values. It supports our children for life as engaged citizens and to meet life’s opportunities, challenges and responsibilities. 

Equalities and Diversity Statement:

At Libra we are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all children and school adults, and to providing a working environment which is free from discrimination, prejudice and harassment. We encourage respect and consideration for others, and recognise and value the school as a safe place for learning. The school adults at Libra recognise that inequalities exist in our local community, the wider UK community and globally and believe that, as educators, we have a crucial role to play in eliminating racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination. We can promote equality by dealing with bullying, racial abuse and sexism immediately and by educating the children in our care without prejudice.