SMSC stands for Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural. At Salford City Academy the promotion of student’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural education is extremely important to us.
‘The academy equips students to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens in the academy and wider society. Strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural development permeates through the academy.’ (OFSTED 2015)
We work hard to implement SMSC throughout our curriculum and through every aspect of academy life. Student's have opportunities to participate in many extra-curricular and enrichment activities, develop leadership skills through becoming student ambassadors, members of the student or subject councils, support in many fundraising activities and discuss many issues through tutor time activities and assemblies.
‘The citizenship curriculum is well designed to capture opportunities in all year groups, for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For instance, the police and prison service have been used to promote an understanding of the consequences of students’ behaviour, ‘right and wrong’.’ (OFSTED 2015)
Our Aims
- At Salford City Academy we aim to equip our young people to face their futures as respectful, valued members of society and to:
- Provide a holistic, not solely academic, education.
- Follow the RESPECT agenda which aims to support communities and tackle anti-social behaviour.
- Encourage all young people at Salford City Academy to become valued members of society, including contributing to the local community.
- Prepare young people for wider society.
- We hope that by focussing on the social, moral, spiritual and cultural needs of the young people at Salford City Academy we can continue to build upon what Ofsted identified as:
‘The caring and calm ethos within the academy [which] provides an oasis of enrichment accessible for all students.’
Spiritual:
-Students are encouraged to reflect on their experiences through discussions with tutors, year leaders and through pupil voice activities.
-Students have opportunities to express creativity and imagination throughout the curriculum, these skills are heavily embedded in our enrichment days, for example, Year 9 students; produced a table tennis feeder, Year 7 built a model rail network and painted an academy wall.
-Religious diversity is respected and celebrated across the academy through promotion of religious festivals, through tutor time activities and in assemblies.
-In Religious Studies in KS3 students are taught about the importance of tolerance and respect and engage SMSC discussions such as whether religious freedom should be limited or a basic human right.
Moral
-Development of student values; (REACT) Responsibility, Excellence, Aspiration, Commitment and Teamwork are the core principals of our behaviour and rewards policies. Promoted in every assembly, across tutor time activities and academy displays.
-High quality pastoral intervention and support is provided by a dedicated team of year Leaders, tutors, teaching support assistants, HLTAs, School councillor and learning mentors. Under the strategic leadership of the Vice Principal, the pastoral provision ensures high levels of communication and agreed swift actions when concerns are raised by parents, colleagues and students.
-The school promotes a anti-bullying culture; anti-bullying ambassadors have been introduced and play a lead role in eliminating bullying incidents in the academy.
-Anti-bullying week is promoted with a variety of activities taking place during the week.
Moral Enrichment Opportunities/ Education with Character
-Debate Club provides opportunities for students to explore different moral and social topics, using a structured environment to share and learn about different perspectives on challenging topics.
Friendship Club targets some of our vulnerable students who need greater support settling into academy life.
Social
-High quality pastoral intervention and support is provided by a growing team of year leaders, tutors, teaching support assistants, HLTAs, School councillors and learning mentors. The pastoral provision embodies high levels of communication and swift actions when concerns are raised by parents, colleagues and students.
-The school promotes a anti-bullying culture; anti-bullying ambassadors play a lead role in eliminating bullying incidents in the academy.
Social Enrichment Opportunities/Education with Character
-The KS3 Reading Club “A Novel Bunch” allows students to join and discuss literature, alongside participating in group reading of novels from a range of genres.
-Enrichment Days offering students the opportunities to meet people from various educational, employment and social backgrounds. Students also get the opportunity to work together, with different groups to ‘class sets’, improving team building skills, confidence and problem solving
Cultural
-Culture is celebrated through themed lunch menus such as Mexican and Chinese to enable our students to experience foods from around the world.
-European Languages Day is celebrated in school each year. Students led an assembly; took part in themed cultural activities and enjoyed a European themed lunch.
-Other festivals including the day of the dead, a Mexican festival.
-The revised ‘Disruption free Learning’ behaviour policy is transforming the learning culture within the Academy. The behaviour and conduct within lessons is improving rapidly.
-The Academy’s increasing positive culture actively promotes all aspects of student welfare. Students are safe at Salford City Academy and student and parental voice indicate they overwhelmingly feel safe. They understand how to keep themselves and others safe in different situations and settings. They trust leaders to take rapid and appropriate action to resolve any concerns they have.
-Opportunities are encouraged that allow students to understand the importance of understanding risk. For example, all students received an assembly from the local police force about the increasing problem of knife crime in the area. Year 10 took part in an enrichment day exploring a range of topics including basic first aid, the law and consent, pornography and sexting, sexually transmitted infections and safe sexual relations.
-The external company StandUp deliver anti-discrimination education, with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, to young people to Year 9 and Year 10 groups.
-Various departments are working to increase the number of cultural experiences for our students, through visits to the theatre (English), local museums (History) and residential trips (MFL), most recently to Paris.
British Values
- We encourage and support students in developing a range of skills including:
- Interest in and respect for different people’s faiths feelings and values through our Citizenship and RE curriculum.
- Respect for themselves and others.
- The ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong.
- Understand the consequences of their behaviour and actions.
- Being able to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others.
- The skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.
- An understanding of and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others.
As a school community, Salford City Academy is helping its students to develop “British values”. We define “British Values” to be: Democracy; the rule of law; individual liberty; mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.
Click here to view the Citizenship and PSHE learning journey to see how British Values are linked to each scheme of work.
Democracy
Our students are introduced to the concept of “democracy” and all participate in Student Council elections (where representatives are elected by way of a democratic process and engage in a wide range of discussions concerning issues that directly affect them. Student voice is at the heart of our values and is of utmost importance, and members of the Student Leadership team are encouraged to discuss key issues that are likely to affect their peers, as well as bringing their own proposals to staff for consideration. Students who are appointed to leadership roles are taught how to effectively represent their classmates and the importance of considering everybody’s viewpoint when making an informed decision and reaching a common consensus.
The concept of democracy is explored within the curriculum, particularly in PSHE, Citizenship, RE, History and English. Students are encouraged to become politically aware from a young age and participate in debates concerning age-appropriate issues, developing arguments for and against carefully chosen topics. Students are regularly exposed to issues related to fairness, equality and liberty and explore how democracy has been developed throughout history and how it is a fundamental part of the world we live in today.
The rule of law
The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced at Salford City Academy.
The SCA charter provides a clear framework for a harmonious school community., The laws of the land, particularly the Academy’s ‘Fair Rules’, to deal with attendance, punctuality and behaviour are promoted through tutor time, assemblies, the aspire programme and curriculum. In Citizenship students are taught the values and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Students are taught about the British legal system (Crime and Consequences), which covers a broad range of topics regarding crime, justice and reformation.
Individual Liberty
Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to recognise when these are being violated, and what to do/who to approach if they are concerned about this.
Students are supported to make informed choices by providing guidance on a range of key topics, such as online safety, bullying, child sexual exploitation, physical and emotional abuse, radicalisation and extremism – all of which are built into the pastoral curriculum in an age-appropriate and sensitive manner. These issues are also explored in assemblies, interactive workshops and during PSHE and Citizenship lessons.
All our students are valued for their individual talents and contributions and are encouraged to pursue their specific areas of interest through a variety of enrichment, sporting and leadership activities. We encourage pupils to see themselves as unique individuals, able to make a unique contribution to society, whilst also emphasising the importance of teamwork in achieving their goals.
Mutual Respect
Mutual respect is in evidence throughout the curriculum. All students are given the opportunity to express their views in lessons within the context of an environment within which these will be valued, even when there is disagreement; this is evidenced through lesson observations. Our REACT valued ensure that mutual respect, tolerance are promoted throughout the Academy.
Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum from the concept of ‘fair play’ in PE and exploration of community, cohesion, mutual respect and tolerance in Citizenship.
Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs
This is achieved through equipping students with the ability to understand their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity within the school community and externally.
Students are actively encouraged to share their faith and beliefs within the school. The academy’s Religious Studies curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures.
As part of the Citizenship curriculum, students at Salford City Academy are taught about the influence of radicalisation in relation to the Government’s counter terrorism strategy. The Prevent Team also work with staff and students to reduce the risk of vulnerable individuals being drawn into extremism or terrorism. All Year 9 and 10 students have taken part in workshops through our external partner: STAND UP which encourages students to stand up and take a stand against harassment and hate crime.
Preventing Radicalisation
We have defined Radicalisation as, “a process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that (1) reject or undermine the status quo or (2) reject and / or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of freedom of choice.” We believe it is when someone feels marginalised or under-valued that there is a greater opportunity for such extremism to be fostered.
We aim to prevent the radicalisation of our students / staff by:
- Celebrating diversity through our curricular and extra-curricular content
- Providing menu options to meet specific dietary requirements such as halal food
- Authorising absence appropriately for religious observance such as Eid celebrations
- Providing opportunities / facilities for personal prayer and reflection such as Friday prayers
- Providing a Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship education programme that celebrates diversity, challenges stereotypes and addresses issues such as discrimination and prejudice in society as a whole
- Having a school uniform which can be adapted appropriately to meet the requirements of religious dress codes such as headscarfs and P.E. kit (trousers are available for girls)
- Ensuring that student rewards programmes offer rewards that are appropriate to those of all faiths and none
- Providing Work Experience for all year 10 pupils which offers students the opportunity to explore career aspirations and raise expectations
- Ensuring the safer recruitment of our staff and ensure visitors are appropriately vetted and supervised whilst on site
- Responding rapidly, rigorously and appropriately to any reported incidents of a racist or discriminatory nature, adhering to Local Authority reporting protocols, as required