SMSC

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development at West Wycombe School

Intent

At West Wycombe School, we have designed our SMSC curriculum with the intent that our children will become resilient, independent, well rounded learners. Our SMSC will ensure that our children are equipped with the necessary skills to be: successful, moral adults that live healthy lifestyles and take on opportunities beyond their horizons. 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 the ‘4 Cs’ (collaboration, caring, critical, creative) in helping the children to become inquisitive and curious 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.

Implementation

The curriculum is led and overseen by the curriculum leaders. These leaders will play an important part in the success of the curriculum by leading a regular programme of monitoring. The teaching, learning and sequencing of the curriculum follows:
A skills progression approach identified from the RSE curriculum and this has been built upon year on year.
A threaded curriculum approach which has been implemented to ensure coverage and progression in all subject areas – links are identified in all knowledge organisers.
A topic-linked approach can be taken when necessary, which is led student interest and ensuring depth.
A stand-alone approach can be taken when necessary, this ensuring that individual classes’ needs are met.
All classes practice a Growth Mindset ethos; this can be done as regularly as the class requires (or as a minimum on a fortnightly basis).
The structure of the Growth Mindset practice is consistent throughout the school therefore the children become familiar with this, allowing for a composite outcome.
A teaching sequence that immerses the children with a ‘hook’/stimulus, builds inquisitive learners and debating skills and concludes with a reflection/summary.
In addition- the RSE curriculum is taught in all year groups, with a particular emphasis in Years 5 and 6.

Impact

Less children with low self-esteem and better equipped to be resilient within a modern society. • Children are better aware of social media; how to be safe, utilise this productively and make good choices.
Children will have had opportunities to fail, as well as discuss why failure is important, so that they are more resilient to failure and view this as a positive.
Children will collaborate critically, creatively and with a caring approach throughout their time at West Wycombe School.
Children are better able to reflect upon their behaviour and evaluate what makes for good behaviour and what a good learner should look like; this will allow better assessment of ‘bad choices’ and how to learn from these.
Our children will be happy, as well as encouraging of others in and out of the classroom.
Through our SMSC approach our children are more likely to be aspirational (in all aspects of school life) and recognise their full potential beyond their time at our school.
Confidence is instilled in our children, so that they are more likely to push themselves outside of their comfort zones.
Children leave the school with a sense of belonging to a tightly knit community where they have the confidence and skills to make decisions, self-evaluate, make connections and become lifelong learners

SMSC Curriculum Vision

Page last updated: 20/11/23