PSHE and SMSC Crockenhill

PSHE is not a body of knowledge. At Crockenhill it is concerned with enhancing the personal and social development of pupils by examining, exploring and promoting appropriate values which influence the individual and affect his/her development and relationships and interactions with others. Central to the successful personal and social development of the pupils are the processes and experiences that enhance their self-esteem and establish within them a positive self-image.

Adults are role models for children and the example staff give to children, both in school and on extra-curricular activities, is crucial if inconsistency and confusion are to be avoided. Vigilance and awareness by teachers at all times helps to create the caring ethos of the school and the aim, attitudes and values that influence its pupils. By positively teaching this aspect of the curriculum through language, science, RE, PE and indeed throughout the school day we will be going a long way towards implementing a successful PHSE & SMSC policy. 

In addition to this, units of work involving an understanding of 'British Values' and 'Sex and Relationships Education' (SRE) will be taught at appropriate levels within all year groups.

The school promotes SMSC in many ways. Moral and social discussions are held as part of house assemblies and weekly PSHE lessons . We engage with our local churches and religious centres and celebrate and promotes religious dates and festivals from differing religions.

Our weekly assemblies are SMSC driven and the school has a number of support systems in place for pupils, from our learning mentors to our peer mediators to our lunchtime playleaders to our ‘buddies’ programme.

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development equips them to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens in school and in wider society.

Leaders consistently advocate positive message to prevent and educate against prejudice. Weekly assemblies take place that discuss issues such as racism, gender equality, tolerance for differing religions and beliefs, addressing stereotypes, speaking out and positive and appropriate behaviour. Pupil conferencing shows that pupils have exceptionally high opinion of the school and don’t believe anyone suffers from bullying or harassment.

SMSC

SMSC stands for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development in schools.

Crockenhill Primary School strives for the thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Spiritual: Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral: Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social: Use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the 'British values' of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

Cultural: Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

One of our values is 'Respect' and is fundamental to British Values. We actively seek to explore, exploit and celebrate what makes each and every one an individual. We believe that learning about each other in this way builds understanding and respect. It teaches us how to navigate and understand the world in which we live. It teaches us to build friendships and manage relationships. Diversity teaches us about people and culture, it broadens our horizons, builds aspiration and leads us down amazing paths of discovery.

We explore Diversity, SMSC and British Values in a number of ways:

Assemblies: Whilst our assemblies are broadly Christian, all religions are explored, compared and contrasted. We endeavour to discuss world events both past and present and we learn about important figures who have fought for equality with courage and the impact these individuals have had upon the world.

Crockenhill's Wider Curriculum A key element of our wider topic curriculum is internationalism. In every topic, learning is placed in to a global context.

Challenge Values: Our values put a culture of respect, equality, courage and kindness at the forefront of everything we do. We explore each of the values at school level but also make links to wider society and life beyond school.

Religious Education Curriculum: RE is taught in blocks at the start of every term. We learn about religions but also from them – making links to our own experiences and lives.

The Wider Curriculum: We look for exciting, involving and engaging learning activities in every curriculum area. Teachers are enthused and motivated to seek out memorable learning experiences. We use our outdoor spaces, trips to the local community and further afield and invite visitors to school to enrich and diversify learning.

Well-Being approaches: This academic year at Crockenhill we have been working on strategies to support children’s emotional well-being. School is a busy and bustling place and we have identified that our children need time and space to reflect, relax and think. Our ‘well-being’ team is led by teachers and they have introduced a number of strategies to provide opportunities throughout the school day for children to calm and take stock of their feelings.

Worry Box: In school, we provide the children with a worry box. Children can leave notes for class teachers or me and we will follow up on these, no matter the worry. This gives an avenue of communication but also means that children feel that they are listened to. The worry box is also promoted in registration time as a way for children to get something off their chest first thing, rather than it staying with them all day.

The school promotes SMSC in many other ways. Moral and social discussions are held as part of assemblies and PSHE lessons. We engage with our local churches and religious centres and celebrate and promotes religious dates and festivals from differing religions.

Our weekly assemblies are SMSC driven and discuss issues such as racism, gender equality, tolerance for differing religions and beliefs, addressing stereotypes, speaking out and positive and appropriate behaviour. Leaders consistently advocate positive message to prevent and educate against prejudice and the school has a number of support systems in place for pupils.

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development equips them to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens in school and in wider society. Ask your child to tell you more about this important part of their learning and development as super citizens!

School Council

Within PSHE, our Pupil Council system will continue. The School Council forms an effective body through which pupils of the school can have their ideas or concerns recognised. Council meetings are held fortnightly. The pupil council is made up of the class reps, who are elected by their peers every year. Each term the council focus on an aspect of school life and think about how they can improve scghool life for the pupils.  The members of the council collect information from their classes and meet together to collate the information and write an action plan, which is submitted to the school leadership team.