Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

JFK School promotes tolerance and respect for all cultures, faiths and lifestyles through our purpose values and vision. These elements run through our curriculum and all that we do. We work within the framework of the Equality Act 2010 to promote cohesion, tolerance and mutual respect.

Modern British Values at JFK

We promote ‘British Values’ through our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education which permeates through the school’s curriculum. We recognise that this is most successful when values and attitudes are promoted by all the staff and provide a model of behaviour for our pupils. The curriculum in all phases offers broad and balanced opportunities.

Our focus for SMSC is delivered though a personalised approach to ensure that pupils have an appropriate and meaningful learning experience

• Active citizens – participating and taking part in wider community and social settings
• Community working together – community cohesion, mutual respect and tolerance
• Pupil voice – engaging and taking part and independence – democracy and personal liberty
• Exploring sports and culture – participating in cultural and sporting events. Engaging in experiences and awareness of the community and world around me.

‘British Values’ have been identified as:

Democracy:

The ability to understand and communicate is a core area of learning identified in our Curriculum Framework. We ensure that pupil voice is developed, acknowledged and responded to. This includes using words, objects, photographs, pictures, symbols, touch cues, eye pointing or body language. We empower our pupils by giving them opportunities to make choices about the things that they believe to be important. By valuing each ‘voice’ and by listening and responding to that voice we demonstrate that we support democracy and liberty.

Rule of Law:

Pupils are supported to develop a sense of self and self-regulation to learn to manage their behaviour in different social situations and environments. Staff are committed to providing a consistent, structured teaching and learning environment within the school and to manage the challenges of accessing community facilities. This enables pupils to feel safe and secure which in turn, promotes the optimum conditions for wider engagement and participation for learning to take place.

Individual Liberty:

Pupils are encouraged to engage, participate and become valued citizens. We do this by supporting each pupil to become as independent as possible and recognising the right to say 'Yes' or 'No' to ideas or activities. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles and to understand that with certain rights comes a level of responsibility. Learning to do things independently is an important part of developing a sense of self. We support the development of our sense of self and others by participating in events such as, Red Nose Day/Comic/Sports Relief and Children in Need.

Mutual Respect

Learning is personalised to promote participation in activities, settings and locations that are appropriate to students individually, to meet their needs. Within school, pupils work with a range of people; communication and interaction with others are positively promoted on a personalised basis for each learner. This may include working with pupils from other schools, coaches, theatre groups or going into the community to meet with a range of people in a variety of events and social situations.

We value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all pupils, families and staff in our school and the wider community. We participate in events and lessons to celebrate our community, promoting mutual enjoyment, tolerance of and respect for differences in the wider world.

Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs:

We are part of a school and local community where each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race.

Cultural appreciation and development forms part of our curriculum. We place great emphasis on providing encounters and participation in events and celebrations to broaden all pupils’ experiences and awareness of others.

Our class assemblies and school celebrations help all pupils to find out about themselves and others linking their lives to the communities in which they belong. The themes cover areas such as: friendships, helping others and celebrations from a range of faiths or world events.

The staff work in partnership with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure that the pupils at JFK are motivated, happy, and supported to learn the skills they need to live a fulfilling life as part of their community.