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“This is our school
Let peace dwell here,
Let the rooms be full of contentment,
Let love abide here,
Love of one another,
Love of people,
Love of life itself
and love of God
Let us remember that
As many hands build a house,
so many hearts build a school.”
The SMSP School Prayer

At SMSP, we are proud to live and work in a culturally heritage-rich society. Discrimination on the basis of colour, culture, origin, gender or disability is unacceptable in this school and is challenged and monitored.

We hope that every child and adult within the school community will endeavour to personally contribute towards a happy and caring environment by showing respect for, and appreciation of, each other as individuals. Our aim is to equip children with an awareness of an increasingly diverse society and to present the world as it is and how we would like it to be. We seek to offer an education where pupils learn to distinguish right from wrong and where they have opportunities through which they can develop a strong sense of moral code, as well as developing personally, socially and culturally.

Our school vision ‘Life in all its fullness’ is at the heart of our school.

We realise our vision through the following four key areas:

Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills
Hope and Aspiration
Community and Living Well Together
Dignity and Respect

Through each of these areas, we aim to provide a curriculum and experience of school life which is deeply Christian, whilst at the same time serving the common good within our community.

‘Life in all its fullness’ will look different for all members of our school community. Nevertheless, through the pursuit of excellence; offering the widest possible breadth of curriculum and planned and spontaneous opportunities for spiritual development, we believe everyone should be able to flourish and achieve their full potential.

Listed below are just some of the ways SMSP School promotes Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development.

SMSC How We Promote It
Spiritual
  • A ‘Sacred Space’ is created through use of an ‘altar’ which helps pupils sense the difference between collective worship and other curriculum uses of the hall space. Candles, a cross and other items to reflect special occasions provide a focus point for the children. Hall displays remind children of the school’s vision and values.
  • Candles are lit at the start of collective worship to focus the children and direct their thoughts towards people to reflect on or pray for e.g. friends, families, the local community, the wider world.
  • Each act of collective worship closes with a prayer. This is often the school prayer which children will join in with. Sometimes members of the RE Steering Group will lead prayers.
  • Liturgy is often used, e.g. ‘This is the day that the Lord has made.’
  • The Clergy team lead weekly acts of collective worship.
  • Collective worship themes reflect the school vision, school values, Christian festivals and a number of themes follow the LDBS School Collective Worship Calendar.
  • Collective worship songs promote a sense of awe and wonder. A wide range of songs and hymns are selected.
  • Year group chaplains support the teaching of RE.
  • Pause Days give the children time to explore and reflect on a theme, e.g. Harvest, Easter.
  • Key festivals celebrated through special assemblies and visits to the local church (Christmas carol service at St Mary’s with St Albans, Ash Wednesday service at school).
  • Big Question enquiry approach to the teaching of RE. Children encouraged to ask questions and think deeply.
  • LDBS syllabus uses an approach that engages with the Biblical text and theological ideas.
  • Thematic units taught in Year 6, e.g. The Journey of Life and Death.
  • Visits to places of worship, e.g. Year 5 Sikh Gurdwara, Year 4 pilgrimage to local church.
  • A sense of ‘awe and wonder’ about the natural world is encouraged through the curriculum, e.g. science, geography, art.
  • The history curriculum provides an opportunity to foster a sense of appreciation for humanity’s achievements and developments (e.g. Mayan culture, the Stone Age, Ancient Egypt).
  • Displays  promote spirituality, e.g. Icon displays.
  • Reflection spaces in classrooms with crosses, Bibles, prayer boxes.
  • The RE steering group is involved in leading acts of collective worship.
  • Bibles are given as a gift to Year 6 leavers.
  • Special extra-curricular opportunities are provided. These change year on year to keep the children inspired, e.g. whole school nativity trail, nativity box project, decorating an Easter cross, 40 Acts of Kindness.
Moral
  • Our school rules ‘Ready, Respectful, Safe’ promote good behaviour.
  • High expectations of pupil conduct which is reflected in our positive behaviour policy. Caring behaviour and consistent demonstration of our values is praised through use of class recognition boards.
  • Adults support good behaviour in and around the playground. Restorative conversations are held where needed.
  • All staff demonstrate the highest standards of conduct in order to encourage pupils to do the same.
  • All our RE teaching is underpinned by the principles of inclusion, equal opportunities and race equality. British values are taught.
  • Respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs is expected.
  • PSHE lessons often reflect on moral issues which affect ourselves and our wider community.
  • Within school assemblies and PSHE lessons, children discuss how to earn trust and respect and are supported to develop a strong sense of morality, knowing right from wrong and doing the right thing even when it is difficult.
  • Each class has its own Class Charter for Effective Learning – discussed, voted for and agreed on by the children – which has clears rules, relating to behaviour and what is right/wrong.
  • Children are taught how to behave and keep themselves safe, including on-line. This is done through computing lessons, assemblies and visits from organisations such as the NSPCC, as well as through the PSHE curriculum.
  • Children are expected to take responsibility for their behaviour and any misconduct is accounted for and explained in terms of the school rules, e.g. off-task behaviour distracting other learners.
  • Children are encouraged to support those in need within the local community and the wider world, e.g. Harvest appeal, Christmas collections for those in need.
  • Peace One Day is marked annually where the children have the opportunity to reflect on the importance of promoting peace.
  • Good stewardship of our world is promoted through recycling in each classroom, visits from outside agencies (e.g. Green Peace) and Eco Warriors.
  • Children work together and are encouraged to be fair, to listen to each other and share ideas etc.
  • Children are taught about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and learn to respect their rights and the rights of others.
  • Through role-play within English lessons, children are encouraged to reflect on characters and their next steps, e.g. hot seating.
  • In English many studied texts promote discussion of right/ wrong or good/ evil characters.
  • ‘Conscience Alley’ activities encourage children to inhabit, explore and express different viewpoints.
Social
  • Teachers praise hard work and commitment, with a view to promoting a sense of each individual child’s potential to succeed, and that this potential is something which is not ‘fixed’, but which can be fostered and developed.
  • Friendship week to mark Anti Bullying week.
  • Mental Health Day is marked annually. It helps children understand the importance of good mental health and shows them that they aren’t alone with their mental health.
  • Fair trade fortnight promotes understanding of where produce comes from and how it is produced. Buying fairly traded items is promoted.
  • Within our ‘Online-safety’ units, children learn the importance of being respectful and polite when online/ texting/ emailing.
  • Achievers assemblies celebrate children’s successes.
  • Respect of others’ opinions, giving a balanced argument and debating is taught.
  • Emotional wellbeing is promoted through work with the MHST and Art of Brilliance.
  • Our school values, along with our PSHE curriculum and circle time, teach children how to respect each other. Children are taught how to be cooperative and collaborative, how to be supportive and how to look for similarities whilst being understanding of differences.
  • Children work together and are encouraged to be fair, listen to each other, respect opinions and share ideas.
  • Knowledge, understanding and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs is promoted through the LDBS Religious Education syllabus. Children learn about different religions, their beliefs, places of worship and festivals.
  • Our Religious Education curriculum gives learners the opportunity to respond to different religious ideas in a respectful manner.
  • Our school council is a place where all opinions are heard and respected. Pupil voice is highly valued at SMSP.
  • Collective worship songs often focus on ‘Loving your neighbour’, showing compassion and working together in community.
  • Visits to the older members of our local community (Year 5 carol singing at Homemead, Elleray Hall, Fullerton Court)
  • Displays around the school celebrate and respect other children’s work.
  • ‘Talk Partners’ and group work give all children opportunities to work together and respect their peers.
  • Residentials provide a rich opportunity for social development. Trips take place in Year 4 and Year 6.
  • Community competitions (e.g. Mayor’s Christmas card) give children the chance to access wider extra-curricular opportunities.
  • Sporting events (e.g. tournaments, matches) provide opportunities for meeting children from other schools and teach the importance of team work and fair play.
  • All year groups practise peer and self-assessment of their learning/work.
  • A culture of ‘embracing and learning from mistakes’ is promoted throughout the school.
  • All children (including SEN, PPG, EAL) are encouraged to volunteer for extra-curricular opportunities, e.g. School Council, Eco Warriors, Year 6 Advocates, House Captains, RE Steering Group.
  • Peer Buddies (Year 5) support cooperative play in the younger year groups.
  • Children raise money for local and national charities through Harvest donations and whole-school charity events. Year 6 ‘ Grow a Pound’.
  • Our PSHE curriculum teaches children to understand that families look different to different people.
Cultural
  • Throughout the year and during Black History Month the children reflect on the rich achievements of black people as well as explore the challenges they have faced through history.
  • Children have the opportunity to share their own cultural experiences associated with their own religions in Religious Education lessons.
  • Full advantage is taken of being in a culturally rich city, with visits to diverse places of worship, museums and galleries.
  • Freedom of creativity is actively encouraged in art, music and dance lessons. There a wide range of after-school activities and extra-curricular opportunities for children to choose from. These include art club, drama club, sports clubs, photography club, ‘Kiddie Cook’, ‘Jamming Together’, Junior and Senior choir.
  • Richmond Music Trust provide a wide variety of musical tuition including violin, piano, guitar, clarinet, flute and singing.
  • English lessons and whole class reading times give children exposure to a variety of literary and poetry styles from different cultures.
  • Music and dance lessons incorporate different world music.
  • Children are encouraged to consider that Christianity is a world-wide faith and consider the churches around the world, e.g. within RE topics, crosses from around the world displayed around the school.
  • Specific cultural opportunities are explored in different year groups e.g. Year 5 Italian unit (children learn about the country/culture and write to Italian pen pals), Reception learn about Chinese New Year.
  • Within our Geography curriculum, children learn about different cultures around the world.
  • RE trips include Prom Praise for Schools at the Royal Albert Hall and the Christingle service at Westminster Abbey.
  • Choir participate in the Richmond Singing Festival.

Taken as a whole, we believe these different practices help foster the Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development of learners in our culturally diverse school and to foster an atmosphere of cultural respect and appreciation.

 

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