Cultural Capital, SMSC & British Values
"... the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement." - Ofsted Inspection Handbook
Cultural Capital
At Meole Brace C of E Primary School and Nursery, our ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum is designed to not only ensure that children gain the required knowledge for their year groups in each subject area, but to also provide them with memorable and enriching experiences that they may not otherwise be exposed to in order to best prepare them for life in modern Britain.
Meole Milestones
Interwoven through the whole-school curriculum, our Meole Milestones programme provides children with a wide range of opportunities and experiences to inspire them, broaden their horizons and equip them with life skills that will help them to become positive members of their communities in later life. These Meole Milestones are met through educational visits and visitors and a variety of carefully planned learning activities.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) Development
As part of the National Curriculum, children are expected to learn about a range of different faiths, cultures, morals and values to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Linking to our Meole Milestones and as part of our values-based curriculum, we do this throughout their time in school, particularly through our Collective Worship cycle and our RE and PSHE lessons. In addition, subject areas such as RSHE and Online Safety in Computing, also help children to become well-rounded British citizens, building their ‘Cultural Capital’ and teaching them how to keep themselves safe. This all supports the children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, but to learn more, please see our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development Policy.
Britsh Values
We are committed to the promotion of British Values and to serving our local and wider communities through our Christian ethos and our spiritual, moral, social and cultural provision. We recognise the importance of our responsibility to ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out throughout our school curriculum. We also recognise the multi-cultural, multi-faith nature of the United Kingdom and actively promote and model these ideals, welcoming admissions from all those families entitled to education under British law regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political or financial status. To help them to recognise and better understand these values, we focus on a different British Value each half term as part of our PSHE provision. We also explore current affairs and current issues in our weekly Current Affairs Collective Worship sessions in each class and then we relate these to one of the British Values and one of the protected characteristics.
Protected Characteristics
Learning about these fundamental British Values also supports us in teaching children about protected characteristics to ensure that they are well-informed of these characteristics and the rights of people within their communities, in an age-appropriate way. Children are aware of discrimination and, as a result, we all work hard to ensure everyone in our community is included and accepted. Respect is one of our school's core values and therefore children recognise the importance of treating people fairly and respecting everyone’s rights. This learning is enhanced as children in Key Stage 2 complete the 'I Am Me' programme with West Mercia Victim Support to show that these rights are enshrined in law. This all links directly to our behaviour policy and expectations and our continuous drive for equality, as seen in our Equality Information and Objectives document.
