Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development at RNIB Pears Centre

Celebrating Diversity; Embracing British ValuesWe are very proud of the way our whole school (and centre) community values every young person as a unique individual, who deserves respect and empathy. At RNIB Pears Centre we believe in the fundamental right of everyone to hold their own values and beliefs, without judgement. We think that diversity is a strength and should be highly valued. We also believe that we want to support each other to make a positive contribution to our communities. We are a non-faith school that is passionate about principles of:

Tolerance Liberty Democracy Law or right and wrong.

Definitions of SMSC (Spiritual, moral, social and cultural)

SpiritualExplore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

MoralRecognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

SocialUse a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the 'British values' of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

CulturalAppreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

How do we promote the development of SMSC at RNIB Pears?Many aspects of SMSC are promoted through the day to day ethos of our school and centre. The values and behaviours we expect from our staff and young people are built on principles of collaboration, support and personal excellence. Through our daily interactions with each other we expect all members of our school community to model positive behaviours, tolerance and understanding.

Our weekly assembly themes address many areas of SMSC and incorporate themes specific to the promotion of British Values. Young people are included in presenting or actively participating in assemblies wherever appropriate.

Our curriculum supports the development of SMSC through a number of learning areas, including “People of the world” and “Healthy Me”. Our enriched curriculum offers activities linked to independence, sensory activities and habilitation skills also enhances the opportunities for young people to engage in our communities.

Special events and activities to mark the major world religions are built into our school calendar each year and we celebrate these as a whole school and in our classes. Whilst we allow parents to opt their young people out of certain activities if they so wish we are pleased that this is rarely the case and that this helps to spread further tolerance and understanding.

Our behaviour policy is built on our principle that behaviours are a form of communication. Therefore we do not have a sanction system to evidence right and wrong or consequences to our young people. However where there are opportunities to discuss right and wrong and challenge the thinking of young people, we embrace that and work with them as an individual so that we can respond to their learning needs.

Much of the work we undertake with our young people is to support their access to the wider world now and in the future. To this end we work tirelessly to ensure they can interact with others, understand social boundaries and be safe. This is a critical part of our work to ensure that our young people do not suffer from social isolation now or in the future. Their voices can be heard and they can contribute to their world to the best of their ability.

The Impact of our SMSC WorkAs a school we have had no recorded incidents of bullying between our young people or from our young people. We do not encounter issues arising from the cultural differences among our staff or young people. Any young person or adult who conveys opinions not in-keeping with our principles of tolerance and understanding are quickly dealt with through open and honest discourse. Over time from their starting points with us, our young people make significant progress in their personal and social development. They display increasing ‘tolerance’ of changes in people, places or routine. They show a greater desire to engage with others and communicate in a way that makes sense to them and those who know them well. They show greater resilience and in turn present as better self-managers, who can exercise improved levels of appropriate control over their anxieties and behaviours.