What is SMSC?

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

SMSC is essential for our children’s individual development, as well as the development of society as a whole. We want to ensure that our children are able to access, participate and make a positive difference to the diverse and democratic society in which they live. The City of Leicester is proud of our multi-cultural heritage and as such, our school celebrates the diversity within our community.

How do we promote SMSC at Oaklands School?

We do this by helping each UNIQUE child at Oaklands to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence in a variety of ways both in the classroom and in other environments. Our school vision is that we are building firm foundations for fulfilling futures. To do this, we are living our unique values every day, for everyone in our community.

At Oaklands School, SMSC is interwoven into our curriculum through:

• Whole class learning experiences as well as personalised approaches
• Pupils connecting with themselves, engaging with others in school and then participating in activities in the wider community
• Developing an awareness and respect for diversity
• Developing an understanding of right and wrong
• Developing pupils’ preferred communication skills to make choices about likes/dislikes in school, then educational visits in the wider community
• Nurturing pupils’ talents and interests, for example, through continuous provision, ASH (Arts, Sports, Hobbies) Fridays and Big Days
• Our Big Days facilitate celebration of and learning about different cultural and religious events throughout the year, where children have opportunities to be immersed in a range of activities and experiences
• Having times of reflection and for celebration, for example, sensory experiences, celebration songs, and for some pupils in pathway assemblies
• Taking part in sporting opportunities in school and for some pupils, in the wider community
• Taking part in cultural opportunities in school and for some pupils, in the wider community
• Taking part in creative opportunities; access to theatre experiences, music and arts

We also work closely with Talking Rhythms (Simon Stokes), SENSory Atelier (Attenborough Arts) and other community groups and projects, enabling children to connect with themselves and with others in a variety of creative ways.

Oaklands school uses the SMSC Quality Mark to continuously audit our own SMSC practice. Through using this audit tool, we have access to external, independent verification of our self-review.