St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”
Psalm 133.1

Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development

Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development

At St Vincent’s, we have a holistic approach to learning that aims to expand and nurture each child’s academic and personal development. By embedding the aspects of SMSC throughout our curriculum, we aim to help develop healthy, independent and responsible members of society. Opportunities to promote pupils’ development in these areas are provided in religious education, whole school assemblies, themed days, circle time and through cross-curricular PSHE sessions. We also encourage all of our pupils to play a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community through class & school councils, fundraising and involvement in community activities.

Spiritual development
This is the development of a sense of identity, belonging, self-worth, meaning and purpose. Children are able to develop their own personality and have respect for different people’s feelings and values. They are continuously encouraged to use their imagination and creativity in their learning, and to reflect on their experiences.

Moral development
This is about acquiring an understanding of right and wrong, and being able to apply this understanding within and outside school.  Moral development also includes pupils’ appreciation that different people hold different views and values on subjects, and being able to articulate their own opinions. Children understand society’s values and develop their understanding of the consequences of their actions which will then encourage them to make reasoned decisions.

Social development
This is the development of pupils’ ability to work collaboratively with each other and participate successfully in the community as a whole. Pupils develop skills that are necessary to be able to problem solve, resolve conflicts and to create successful relationships.

Cultural Development
This is the development of pupils’ understanding and appreciation of their own and others’ cultures and beliefs.  Pupils develop an understanding and respect for cultural diversity and reflect this in their attitudes and behaviours around school and within the wider community.

Look at our blog below to see what Cultural development looks like in our school

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Curriculum Intent

At St Vincent’s it is our INTENT is to enable ALL children to thrive through the opportunities we provide them with, in order to:

  • Live their lives by the Gospel and Vincentian values instilled in them at school.
  • Understand that everyone has the right and responsibility to live in our world constructively and ensure that we leave it in a better state than when we entered it by living and working through the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in line with the UNCRC (United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child)
  • Experience creativity across the curriculum through specialist art and dance lessons and opportunities to take part in art, music, dance and creative writing competitions.
  • Know the joy of outdoor learning, the rich biodiversity within our school grounds and locality and develop a responsibility for the environment we share as stewards.
  • Understand their place in the world, globally and locally, knowing the history of our school, Mill Hill and the Daughters of Charity and knowing where our diverse community members have their roots across the world.
  • Be ready and well-prepared for their next steps in life, having high aspirations for themselves and for others because they have experienced success and a belief in learning from mistakes.
  • Have a life-long curiosity, stimulated by the driving questions of Project Based Learning approach to the curriculum fostering inquiry and independent learning skills, which give confidence to ask big questions about the world.
  • Be literate and numerate having experienced a rich variety of texts to stimulate and excite the mind while developing skills in investigating and problem solving to enable them to excel in their future passions.
  • Be confident and happy young people that have a broad understanding and tolerance of the world and others around them with excellent communication skills honed by their experience of Restorative Justice and respect of the dignity and wishes of the individual.

Curriculum Context

St Vincent’s is a 1.5 form entry school with 285 children ranging from 4 -11. Children come predominantly from the parishes of Sacred Heart in Mill Hill and St Anthony’s in Edgware.

Children come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, speak 17 different languages and hail from 26 different ethnic groups. The curriculum we present, and promote, to the children is an endeavour to reflect these differences by providing opportunities to explore the different countries, languages and customs our children are part of through the projects they investigate. We have looked closely at the context of our school, the backgrounds of the children and how life is for a child growing up in North London today. We have used the underlying principles of our Catholic Faith and the example of our namesake St Vincent to create a set of values which lie at the heart of our curriculum.

We are aware of the changing nature of society and the pressures faced by young children as they enter the next stage of their education. The rise in Mental Health related issues has been widely documented across the media. Therefore, issues such as internet safety and the enormous impact across society of social media are at the forefront of our minds when planning our curriculum. With the current worldwide concerns relating to Covid 19, racial justice, equality and diversity, as well as gender and economic background, we feel it is our duty to prepare the children through a concerted focus on building independence, resilience and communication skills linked to our Vincentian Values.