At St Luke’s C of E Primary, we offer a variety of ways to help our children develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including understanding of British Values.

SMSC is promoted not only through all of the subjects in our curriculum, but also through our Christian vision, values and ethos which permeate all aspects of school life. We aim to provide opportunities for our children to form their own identity and sense of place and purpose; giving them the confidence to question and discover who they are in the world and face the exciting challenges that lie ahead. Alongside this we teach children to reflect on British Values, linked to our Christian Values.

Our children are actively involved in raising money for a variety of events throughout the year. This enables pupils to develop key skills to equip them to be courageous advocates for the common good, locally and globally.

The spiritual development of pupils is demonstrated by their:

  • ability to be reflective about their own beliefs, religious or otherwise, that inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values in the increasingly diverse world around them.
  • sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them.
  • use of imagination and creativity in their learning.
  • willingness to reflect on their experiences.

The moral development of pupils is demonstrated by their:

  • ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England.
  • understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions.
  • curious about and interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues and ability to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues.

The social development of pupils is shown by their:

  • use of a range of social skills in different contexts, for example working and socialising with other pupils, including those from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
  • willingness to participate in a variety of communities and social settings, including by volunteering, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively.
  • acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; they develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

The cultural development of pupils is shown by their:

  • understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and those of others.
  • understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain.
  • knowledge of Britain’s democratic parliamentary system and its central role in shaping our history and values, and in continuing to develop Britain.
  • willingness to participate in and respond positively to artistic, musical, sporting and cultural opportunities.
  • interest in exploring, improving understanding of and showing respect for different faiths and cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their tolerance and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the local, national and global communities.

British Values

British values are embedded in the work of the school and they are defined as:

  • democracy
  • the rule of law
  • individual liberty
  • mutual respect
  • tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

At St Luke’s, British Values are promoted through our curriculum, but also through our Christian vision, values and ethos. We aim to provide opportunities for our children to develop the confidence to question and share their own opinions about the world around them. We believe in teaching our children to have sound values with an emphasis on respect for others, mutual understanding and a celebration of diversity.

Democracy

The school values pupil voice and we ask the pupils about their learning, their concerns and for their ideas about how we can make things better for them. We do this by using pupil questionnaires and through our Pupil Ambassador teams. At the start of each year children vote for their class representatives through an election process. Through their class representatives children have the opportunity to have their voices heard.

The Rule of Law

The children understand the school rules and what happens if these rules are broken. During PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) lessons and assemblies children learn about the importance of having rules and how these relate to laws. We use a range of PSHE resources to promote moral, spiritual, social and cultural awareness among our pupils. Our children have a well-developed sense of justice. They understand and are able to discuss why there needs to be consequences for those who break the rules or laws. By being immersed in the ethos of the school, our children learn about their responsibility to be law abiding citizens.

Individual Liberty

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our children to make choices safely; for example:

Choices about what learning challenge or activity to do.

Choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities.

Choices about lunchtime options, and so on.

Our behaviour policy is built on the principle that children are responsible for their own actions and choices and that these have consequences. The school sanctions system provides reflection time where pupils are able to think about the impact of their choices. During PSHE, e-Safety lessons and assemblies pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe whilst they exercise their rights and personal freedoms. Safeguarding is embedded in every aspect of life at the school.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

Adults actively model respect with one another, and with the children, in how we speak and treat one another. Our school is a diverse community and, through our creative curriculum, we promote an awareness of different faiths and we encourage our pupils to recognise and understand these faiths. Our pupils naturally show tolerance for others and have a curiosity to find out and understand cultures and faiths that are different from their own.