Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education (SMSC) describes the guidance and experiences school provides for pupils which help them to understand the values which our country holds dear and which help to bond our school together, both as a community and to its community.

At Britannia, we ensure that the children are aware of these four strands and how they link to learning and life lessons so crucially. Below are some examples of these four strands in action in our school.

Spiritual

• Children are encouraged to use their imagination and creativity in a wide range of subjects including art, DT, Wonder Wood and English.

• Children are always being encouraged to reflect on experiences they have had and those of others. This is especially prominent in Global Learning, RSHE and History. 

Moral

• Classroom culture is steeped in mutual respect (including differing viewpoints) and respect for the rules that they themselves create. 
• Children understand the need for rules and that there are consequences for wrong choices (traffic light system).

Social

• Children work collaboratively in a range of subjects and learning is supported by mixed ability talk partners.

• Children positively contribute to, and are involved in, many aspects of school life including school council and friendship monitors on the playground (resolving conflicts).

Cultural

• All children in years 3-6 have French lessons and children in EYFS, year one and two have an awareness of the country of France and some everyday vocabulary.

• Different cultures and religions are learnt about and celebrated at Britannia including cooking food from different cultures and learning about different festivals.

In EYFS and KS1, these four strands are linked to animals and you may hear your children referring to Spiritual Stingray, Moral Moose, Social Snake and Cultural Cat! These characters embody the associated concept and enable the children to discuss them within lessons with adults and peers.

In LKS2 and UKS2, children are encouraged to make explicit links between the four strands and their learning and look for links between different subjects and experiences. This all makes for rich and informed discussions around learning, societal issues, world news and much more.

How do we link the SMSC strands within lessons?

Each classroom has a quadrant with the four strands and when teachers reference the strands during a lesson, or the children notice a link, it gets added to the quadrant.

Year 3 linked their learning to the cultural strand when they tasted Indian food and then designed and made their own curry!

Year 6 linked their learning to the moral and spiritual strands when they were able to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others during an R.E. lesson on Humanism.

Year 1: Social

Year 1 exhibited the social strand when they worked in small groups to make a fruit salad in design and technology