Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Curriculum

At St Martin and St Mary CE Primary School we understand that a child’s personal development plays an important role in their ability to learn and achieve. As a Church school we foster a culture and atmosphere based upon Christian values of Friendship, Love, Trust, Honesty and Forgiveness.

Personal well-being and spiritual development is at the heart of every aspect of the school. Our school will meet the needs of every child by providing an education that enables children to achieve the following: Be Healthy, Stay Safe, Enjoy and Achieve, Make a Positive Contribution and Economic Wellbeing.

Therefore securing our school aims which are to:

• Provide a rich, broad, balanced education for the children.
• Create a caring and stimulating Christian environment in which learners are encouraged to fulfil their potential and make a positive contribution to society.

We consciously facilitate opportunities in the following ways:

Spiritual Development

This refers to a child’s beliefs which inform their perspective on life and their respect for other people’s feelings and values. It is about the development of a sense of identity, self-worth, personality and character. This is supported by:

• The opportunity to develop a set of values and principles which compliments St Martin and St Mary CE Primary School‘s ethos and informs children’s perspective on life and their patterns of behaviour.
• An awareness of, understanding and respect for their own and others’ beliefs.
• The opportunity for children to experience ‘awe and wonder’ through exploring natural environments.
• Children will have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and progress and to learn from this reflection.
• Promoting teaching styles which value pupils’ questions and gives them space for their own thoughts, ideas and concerns so they can make connections between their learning and the context of their own lives.

Moral Development

This refers to a child’s moral code, their attitude and belief in what is right or wrong and about choices. This is supported by:

• An opportunity for pupils to explore and understand human emotions and the way they impact on people through Literacy, Drama, Music and Dance.
• Providing a clear moral code for behaviour which has been shaped by the children and is promoted consistently though all aspects of school; for example, Behaviour Policy, Class and School Golden Rules, E-Safety learning and Anti-bullying learning.
• Giving pupils opportunities to explore personal rights and responsibilities and to develop moral concepts and values throughout the curriculum; for example, during RE, History, Literacy, Drama. Our links to the Church are strong and collective worship plays a big part in this aspect. Also, through extra-curricular activities, such as School Council, house system (Captains and Vice Captains) outdoor adventurous activities, outdoor learning, eco elves, global learning, charity work and  the Year 5 and 6 residential experience.
• Rewarding expressions of moral insights and good behaviour through our school behaviour policy and reward systems
• Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their actions; for example, respect for property, care for the environment and developing their own codes of behaviour.
• Providing children with models of virtue, through literature, history, science, art during learning in class, assemblies and through acts of worship.
• Reinforcing our school’s values through a focus week or day, images, posters, classroom displays and exhibitions.

Social Development

This refers to a pupil’s understanding of their role in society and the opportunity to develop the skills which will facilitate positive interaction with their local community. This is supported by:

• Fostering a sense of community through involvement in art projects, sports events, partnerships with local schools and supporting charities and events, visits from role models from the community and  church services.
• Encouraging children to work co-operatively; for example, partner work, Playground Leaders, Big friend/ Little friend, Eco Team, Global Club and School Council.
• Providing positive cooperative experiences; for example, sporting events, Christmas, Harvest, Easter, Year Group Assemblies (Y2-Y6), Year 6 performance, Dance events such as Fantasia and Choir performances.
• Providing children with role models from their community; for example, visits from firemen, police officers, sport workers and older pupils both current and pupils who have moved on.
• Helping pupils to develop personal qualities which are valued in society; for example, thoughtfulness, honesty, respect, moral principles, independence, inter-dependence and self-respect.
• Encouraging children to challenge, when necessary and in appropriate ways, the values of a group or a wider community through visitors to school and assemblies which introduce children to positive role models.
• Helping children to resolve tensions between their own aspirations and those of a group or wider society; through adult support, Year 5 and Year 6 residentials, PSHE and circle time discussions and assemblies.

Cultural Development

This refers to a child’s understanding of the beliefs, values and customs in their own and others’ social, ethnic and national groups. This is supported by:

• Providing children with opportunities to explore their own culture assumptions and values through the curriculum and special events, such as themed weeks or cross curricular activity eg Eco week, Global learning, Chines New Year, Book day, Friendship week, Harvest, local celebrations such as time capsule, community projects such as litter pick etc.
• Celebrating the attitudes, values and diverse cultures in Geography, RE, History, Literacy, Assemblies, Art, Dance, Music and drawing on the children’s own cultural backgrounds.
• Recognising and nurturing gifts and talents; for example, Fantasia dance event, taking part in a range of sporting competitions and events, and local and regional competitions.
• Developing partnerships with outside agencies and individuals to extend pupil’s cultural awareness; for example, through Drama, Music, and History.
• Reinforcing our school’s cultural values through assemblies, learning, displays and photographs
• Using ICT and the Internet to extend partnerships with those from other cultural backgrounds.