Buswells Lodge SMSC Curriculum Statement 
Intent, Implementation and Impact
 

Intent
At Buswells Lodge Primary School, the children and their learning are at the very heart of every decision made. We aim to develop learners who are passionate, take ownership of their learning and are proud of their achievements.  The ethos of our school is such that all people who come into our school, whether staff, pupil, parent or visitor, are valued as individuals in their own right. They should set, and be entitled to expect from others, good standards of behaviour, marked by respect and responsibility.  

The school will help the students to develop an inner discipline and will encourage pupils to not just ‘follow the crowd’ - they will make up their own minds and be ready to accept responsibility for what they do. They will grow through making choices and holding to the choices that they have made. They will want to be honest with themselves and with others. We aim to foster a growth mindset in our pupils, where challenges are no longer threatening and there is understanding that mistakes and failures are a step towards achieving and understanding. Facing challenges, making mistakes and keeping going in the face of setbacks are all ways of increasing intelligence. We achieve this through our use of learning powers, talk partners and improvement strategies, which foster a supportive ethos within the whole school.  As a school we value fairness, listening to the opinion of others, caring for others, politeness, care for the environment, tolerance and a developing understanding of what is right and what is wrong. We seek to provide these values whenever possible and in a variety of forms.  The school aims towards the development of the whole child in a relational environment, which raises self-esteem and reduces disaffection. 

At Buswells Lodge we are respectful and reflective members of society. We firmly believe that spiritual, moral, social, cultural (SMSC) development enriches all areas of the curriculum. The development of SMSC and British Values underpin everything we do. Buswells Lodge is a safe and nurturing environment that supports children to feel confident to express and reflect on their views, and the views of others. SMSC at Buswells Lodge will ensure that all children are equipped with the necessary skills to become successful, moral adults that live healthy lifestyles and take on opportunities beyond their horizons.  

Implementation 
The focus of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is the rounded growth of the whole child.  This rounded growth of the whole child is the responsibility of all staff and the whole curriculum, including extracurricular activities, residentials, PSHE / Citizenship and collective worship. All National Curriculum subjects provide opportunities to promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Explicit opportunities to promote pupils’ development in these areas are provided in RE especially with regard to ‘awe and wonder’ and in the framework for PSHE. The school uses the Jigsaw PSHE scheme throughout the school.   Every Jigsaw lesson from Early Years to upper primary offers opportunities for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, and this is clearly mapped and balanced across each year group.

SMSC will deliver a curriculum that:
•    Enhances community and celebrates the cultural diversity within our school. 
•    Is inclusive, develops self-confidence and identifies that all our children are unique, as well as recognising their potential.
•    Encourages our children to be self-motivated, independent and resilient by developing inquiry-based skills that allow them to make mistakes and learn from them.
•    Encourages a Growth Mindset in helping the children to become inquisitive, curious and resilient about their learning.
•    Enables each child to add a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.
•    Promotes an equal value on their physical and mental well-being and ensures they are prepared for life in modern Britain.

Spiritual development
Spiritual development it is not synonymous with the religious – all areas of the curriculum may contribute to pupils’ spiritual development.  However, much opportunity is provided for ‘spiritual development’ in the RE schemes of work in the form of encouraging awe and wonder within the children as part of their awareness of the world around them. Within the curriculum we provide a number of opportunities for pupils to visit a wide range of religious and spiritual venues, such as Leicester Central Mosque, the Mandir Temple and Leicester Cathedral. 

Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their: 
•    beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life & their interest in & respect for different people’s feelings & values  
•    sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible  
•    use of imagination and creativity in their learning (Learning Powers: Imagination and curiosity)
•    willingness to reflect on their experiences (Learning power: Reflection) 
Moral Development
Pupils’ moral development involves them acquiring an understanding of the difference between right and wrong and of moral conflict, a concern for others and the will to do what is right.  They are able and willing to reflect on the consequences of their actions and learn how to forgive themselves and others.  Pupils develop the knowledge, skills, understanding, qualities and attitudes they need in order to make responsible moral decisions and to act on them. Many opportunities are provided for moral development; this is implicit through direct teaching of the Jigsaw curriculum and embedded through the school values and Behaviour Code (Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe). Our Year 6 children visit the Warning Zone which encourages the development of responsible behaviour and sound decision making.
 Pupils’ moral development is shown by their
•    ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong, and their readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives 
•    understanding of the consequences of their actions (Learning Power- reflection) 
•    interest in investigating, and offering reasoned views about, moral and ethical issues (Learning Power- bravery) 
Social Development  
Pupils social development involves pupils acquiring an understanding of the responsibilities and rights of being members of families and communities (local, national and global) and an ability to relate to others and to work with others for the common good.  They display a sense of belonging and an increasing willingness to participate.  They develop the knowledge, skills, understanding, qualities and attitudes they need to make an active contribution to the democratic process in each of their communities. Social development is taught directly through the Relationship strands of PSHE in our Jigsaw lessons as well as being embedded throughout the school community in pupil voice, Growth mindset, school ethos.
Pupils’ social development is shown by their:   
•    use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds  
•    willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively (Leaning power- collaboration) 
•    interest in, and understanding of, the way communities and societies function at a variety of levels.

Cultural Development 
Pupils cultural development involves pupils acquiring an understanding of cultural traditions and ability to appreciate and respond to a variety of aesthetic experiences.  They acquire a respect for their own culture and that of others, an interest in ways of doing things in other cultures and curiosity about differences.  They develop the knowledge, skills, understanding, qualities and attitudes they need to understand, appreciate and contribute to culture. At Buswells Lodge our children are immersed in different cultures through all areas of the  curriculum. These include music and art from other cultures, our chosen texts in English, maths awards featuring a diverse range of mathematicians, black history month and much more.
 Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their:  
•    understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage  
•    to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities (Learning Powers- reflection, bravery, collaboration) 
•    interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities  
Collective Worship
In its acts of collective worship, the school, whilst committed to a regular explicit religious link which is wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character, further aims to provide opportunity to meet together to develop understanding of spiritual and moral issues. Our school assemblies focus on a variety of planned moral issues and questions to promote thoughtful, reflective responses from our pupils taken from the Jigsaw PSHE scheme of work. Recognising the achievements of individual and groups of pupils is also an important part of the assembly pattern.  There are occasions when the children participate in additional assemblies, which celebrate particular festivals e.g., Harvest, Christmas, Eid, Diwali and occasions that are particular to Buswells Lodge. 
Extra-curricular activities
Extra-curricular sporting activities which encourage pupils to participate according to interest, play an important part in SMSC development in developing their skills, self-esteem, confidence and ability to work cooperatively as does giving children responsibility to organise and do things e.g. supporting/playing with younger children on the playground, paired reading etc. Whole school, class groups and the School Council organising of activities for fund-raising provides further development in this area. 

Children are also encouraged to be involved in charity days such as ‘Red Nose Day’ and in responding to world atrocities and disasters e.g. Tsunami and earthquake disasters. This enables children not only to have an awareness of the misfortunes and suffering of others but also, presents an opportunity for the children to support their needs. 
Learning powers
Implicit within the school is the use of Learning Powers. These reflect the attitudes and learning skills necessary for independent, well rounded pupils. We aim to encourage discussion with partners. To foster empathy, tolerance and the ability to work together with cooperation the partners change each week. Partners are encouraged to work collaboratively and be able to evaluate and guide improvements with a partner. Self-esteem is raised through the use of a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) and this also provides ways of improving their own learning. We encourage resilience when improvements are needed. It is not failure that is important but persistence, we teach that they have not got there ‘yet’ to encourage improvement and progression. 
Pupil voice
The term ‘Pupil Voice’ describes how pupils give their input to what happens within the school and classroom. Our desire is for pupils to know that their expertise, opinions and ideas are valued in all aspects of school life. Pupil Voice permeates all levels of our work together, from pupils participating in small group classroom conversations to students establishing procedures, events and contributing to the overarching ethos of the school. 

 The school council is an effective way of ensuring the pupils’ views and opinions are respected. Some of the projects worked on by the school council include anti-bullying, how to improve our school environment and therefore the physical and mental health/wellbeing of pupils, promoting local and national and international fund raising such as water aid and responding to the implementation of consequences for the updated behaviour policy.  

Impact
Through consistent and high quality teaching of SMSC our children will: 
•    Be thoughtful and children that grown into considerate moral adults that are self-reliant and resilient, leading healthy and happy lives.  
•    Be self-motivated, independent and resilient by developing inquiry-based skills that allow them to make mistakes and learn from them.
•    Through deeper learning a reflection of others and different lives we know that our children will grow to seize opportunities beyond their perceived horizons. 
•    Buswells Lodge children will feel that their views are valued. 
•    Be confident to reflect and challenge previously held views. 
•    Have high level of self-esteem and self-confidence. 
•    Distinguish right from wrong, accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative 
•    Understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely.
•    Enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England.
•    Respect for other people and different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.