At Arbour Academy, we deliver SMSC through various subject areas, ensuring that the strands are interwoven into different topics as identified in our subject policies. This approach allows students to develop their understanding of life in Modern Britain in a holistic and meaningful way. Additionally, we have a comprehensive assembly plan that ensures wide-ranging coverage of SMSC strands across the academic year.
The use of the Votes for Schools scheme further enhances our SMSC provision, covering many of the strands and giving pupils the opportunity to express themselves while discussing important social, moral, and cultural issues. This scheme provides age-appropriate materials, includes key calendared events, and keeps topics current, enabling students to stay informed and engaged with the world around them while developing their cultural capital.
Curriculum Integration: SMSC values are embedded across our curriculum, ensuring that learners encounter opportunities for spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development in all subjects. In Project Based Learning at KS3 (PBL) we cover SMSC and British Values through topic-based learning.
This approach provides a wealth of opportunities to engage learners in all areas of SMSC.
Through our PSHE and RSE curriculum we aim to prepare our children for life in modern Britain. In discreet weekly PSHE/RSE lessons, learners will acquire a broad knowledge of the public institutions and services in England, learning about national events and key figures and influences in the UK.
Alongside this, learners also experience democracy through class debates and school council events. Citizenship runs through the core of our curriculum, exploring human rights in PSHE and ‘the difference between right and wrong’ is integral to our behaviour policy and our whole school H.E.R.E culture.
Weekly form time sessions are dedicated to SMSC activities, delivered by all staff members. These sessions align with the whole school SMSC calendar and are designed to engage learners in meaningful discussions, reflections, and activities related to SMSC themes.
Arbour Academy maintains a comprehensive SMSC calendar that outlines various events and activities throughout the academic year. This calendar is accessible to all staff and learners and serves as a guide for planning and participation.
Learners are encouraged to take pride in their learning and actively participate in SMSC events and activities. They are expected to present their work beautifully in their books, aim to have their work presented on High Standards boards around school, capture their learning on their evidence for learning portal, demonstrating their engagement and understanding of SMSC concepts.
SMSC events and activities involve the whole school community, including staff, learners, and parents/carers. This collective participation fosters a sense of belonging and shared responsibility towards SMSC development
Our behaviour policy emphasises the importance of fostering positive relationships and effective communication skills among students.
Students are encouraged to collaborate, show kindness, and demonstrate empathy towards their peers.
Arbour Academy’s behaviour policy supports learners social and moral development. Learners are encouraged to be empathetic towards others and show respect to their peers showing understanding of differences in cultural beliefs.
Learners respect their learning environment and take pride in all they achieve through our HERE focus; supported by the school reward system.
Learners become reflective, resilient, resourceful and responsible learners, through our schools vision and mantra H.E.R.E : High standards, Empathy, Resilience & Emotional response
The implementation of the SMSC policy at Arbour Academy will be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. Teaching of SMSC activities are monitored through regular learning walks with learners' SMSC books included in book scrutinies throughout the year. Feedback from staff, learners, and parents/carers will be sought to continuously improve and adapt our SMSC provision to meet the evolving needs of our learners.
