Personal Development, RSHE, PSHCE and SMSC

Personal Development, RSHE, PSHCE and SMSC

Personal Development is at the heart of everything we do at Sandhill View Academy because we recognise it as essential in enabling students to learn and achieve. The elements that make up personal development at Sandhill View are derived from the statutory RSHE (Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education) curriculum, suggested PSHE Association curriculum and SMSC from the British Values statement.

Personal development permeates the curriculum, assembly programme, special one-off events, personal development lessons and form time activities.  The academy provides a myriad of ways for students to explore and develop morally, socially, spiritually and culturally. Some examples, activities, and, achievements are displayed on our SMSC map.

Our full Relationships, Sex Education (RSE), Health Education and PSHCE Policy can be found here. You can also view our full SMSC & British Values Policy by clicking here.

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC. 

What is SMSC?

• Spiritual Education

  Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their:

  • Beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life & their interest in & respect for different people’s feelings &  values
  • Sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible
  • Use of imagination and creativity in their learning
  • Willingness to reflect on their experience

• Moral Education

  Pupils’ moral development is shown by their:

  • Ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and their readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives
  • Understanding of the consequences of their actions
  • Interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues

• Social Education

  Pupils’ social development is shown by their:

  • Use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
  • Willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively
  • Interest in, and understanding of, the way communities and societies function at a variety of levels

• Cultural Education

  Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their:

  • Understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage
  • Willingness to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical, sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities
  • Interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities​

At Sandhill View Academy we are keen to promote all four of these important values so that we help produce well rounded individuals that go on to be balanced citizens and valued members of society. Our Director of SMSC for Sandhill View Academy is Mr A. Blake, Assistant Head in charge of Personal Development. Should you wish to speak to him about SMSC at Sandhill View then please contact the school office.

Below you will find some valuable links related to our SMSC program.