About

SMSC4SCHOOLS was created by Richard Brock – a former Head of Religious Education who has designed and co-ordinated SMSC tutorial programmes throughout his two decade career in teaching.

Thought For The Week

Receive a weekly spiritual, moral, social and cultural activity-based ppt ideal for a tutorial lesson. Each lesson incorporates recent news and calendar events within a literacy theme.

Bespoke Workshops

A range of workshops suitable for delivery to students and staff on a variety of SMSC themes. Each course can be tailored to your individual school’s requirements and is presented by an engaging SMSC specialist.

Teaching Resources

Currently available through SMSC4SCHOOLS are a series of free to download ppts on the theme of British Values and a free tried and tested scheme of work with lessons and resources exploring the spiritual themes underpinning T.S. Eliot’s literary masterpiece Four Quartets. This section is currently in development and lesson resources will soon be available covering a variety of SMSC related topics.

WORKING LIVES

Working Lives profiles the working experiences of everyday people and examines individual career and occupation choices with a spiritual, moral, social and cultural context.

Considering how our choice of work reflects who we are, the values we exercise through this work and to what extent our labour can be thought of as meaningful beyond its financial rewards, these profile offer insights into the working lives of people, which, it is hoped, might raise aspirations regarding the function of work as both a means of personal discovery and fulfilment. Profiles are added weekly and are available free as a PDF to download for use in the classroom.

What is SMSC?

Spiritual

Spiritual development is the development of the non-material element of a human being which animates and sustains and, depending on our point of view, either ends or continues in some form when we die. It is about the development of a sense of identity, self-worth, personal insight, meaning and purpose.

Moral

Moral development is about the building of a framework of moral values which regulates personal behaviour. It is also about the development of students’ understanding of society’s shared and agreed values. It is about understanding that there are issues where there is disagreement and it is also about understanding that society’s values change. Moral development is about gaining an understanding of the range of views and the reasons for the range. It is also about developing a well reasoned opinion about the different views.

Social

Social development is about young people working positively with each other and participating in the community as a whole. It is about functioning effectively in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. It involves growth in knowledge and understanding of society, society’s institutions, structures and characteristics, economic and political principles and organisations, roles and responsibilities and life as a citizen, parent or worker in a community. It also involves the development of the interpersonal skills necessary for successful relationships.

Culture

Cutural development is about students understanding their own and other cultures in their town, region and country. It is about understanding cultures represented in Europe and elsewhere in the world. It is about understanding and feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures and being able to operate in the emerging world culture of shared experiences provided by television, travel and the internet. It is about understanding that cultures are always changing and coping with change. Promoting students’ cultural development is vital for schools’ attempts to value cultural diversity and prevent racism.