Brighouse High School

Policy Number: 27

Spiritual, Moral, Social & Policy Name: Cultural Development

Policy Date: April 2015

Date Approved:

Reviewer: FJW

D:\Docs\2017-12-14\0dab89e57ff06fad4ea7744f40935e92.doc The Promotion of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

At Brighouse High School we aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by:-

 preparing pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of life.  helping to ensure that everyone in the school feels valued as an individual.  enhancing school success by increasing pupil and teacher motivation.  making a contribution to school ethos.  encouraging reflection in learning on the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ and ‘what’.  ensuring that the values enshrined in the school’s mission statement or aims permeate every part of school life.  playing a significant role in developing important facets of pupils’ broader education.

What does Spiritual Development mean?

Spiritual development is open to everyone, and it is not confined to religious beliefs. It is about something fundamental in the human condition which is not necessarily experienced through everyday language. It is to do with relationships with other people, and, for believers, with God. It is our response to experiences - death, suffering, beauty, good and evil and with the search for meaning and purpose.

The aspects of spiritual development at Brighouse High School include exploration of:-

 Beliefs.  A sense of awe, wonder and mystery.  Search for meaning and purpose.  Self-knowledge.  Relationships.  Creativity.  Feelings and emotions.

There is no neat definition of spiritual development, the spiritual, or spirituality. This need not be a problem for there are no neat definitions of many important positive aspects of life, e.g. music, imagination, beauty. Part of the attraction of discussing and developing the spiritual is the creativity and freedom of approach involved.

“ Spirituality is like a bird: if you hold it too tightly it chokes, if you hold it too loosely it flies away. Fundamental to spirituality is the absence of force”.

(Rabbi Hugo Gryn)

At Brighouse High School spiritual development refers to the planned or intended promotion of aspects of life and personality which characterise the spiritual.

Characteristics of enabling spiritual development are:-

 Open up pupils’ minds to new possibilities.  Widening their horizons.  Deepening their own awareness.  Enabling them to see beyond the finite.  Integrating the various aspects of education into a meaningful whole.  Giving space for the individual pupil to be heard.  Encouraging reflection on issues confronted.

In addition to the school and wider social influences are major factors. Spiritual development is to do with the experience of and search for meaning and purpose in life, and for values by which to live. The spiritual is not the same as religious, but is connected with it. Within these common aspects there are identifiable elements which can form the basis of spiritual development, and which involve all pupils.

Identifiable elements of spiritual development:-

 Appreciation of the importance of beliefs and values in human affairs.  Respect for the beliefs and values of others.  A sense of wonder and awe about the world, human achievement and human life.  Awareness of and reflection on feelings of transcendence and mystery.  Search for meaning and purpose in life.  Self-knowledge and awareness, sense of identity and belonging.  Developing positive relationships and skills for maintaining them, empathy with needs of others.  Developing creativity, perception, interpretation, imagination and celebration.  Awareness and development of feelings and emotions, handling and responding to them.

Morally educated pupils should be able to:-

 Articulate their own attitudes and values.  Take responsibility for their own actions.  Recognise the moral dimension to situations.  Understand the long and short term consequences of their actions for themselves and others.  Develop for themselves a set of socially acceptable values and principles, and set guidelines to govern their own behaviour.  Recognise that their attitudes and values may have to change over time.  Behave consistently in accordance with their principles.

The success of the Policy is determined by:-

 The quality of relationships in the school.  Pupils’ ability to exercise a degree of responsibility and initiative.  Pupils’ ability to work successfully in groups and to participate co-operatively and productively in the school community.  Pupils’ showing understanding of society through the family, the school and the local and wider communities; leading to an understanding of the structures and processes of society.  How well the school prepares pupils to understand aspects of their own and other cultural environments.  Pupils’ response through art, literature, music, technology, art and design, dance, sport etc.  Pupils’ recognition of the contributions of other cultures and of the traditions of their own.

Moral Development at Brighouse High School

Moral development involves several elements:-

 The will to behave morally.  Knowledge of the codes and conventions of conduct agreed by society.  Knowledge and understanding of the criteria put forward as a basis for making responsible judgements on moral issues.  The ability to make judgements on moral issues i.e. making a decision on the basis of what is right and wrong.

The Schools’ values should include:-

 Telling the truth.  Keeping promises  Respecting the rights and property of others.  Acting considerately towards others.  Helping those less fortunate and weaker than oneself.  Taking personal responsibility for one’s actions.  Self-discipline.

The Schools’ values should reject:-

 Bullying.  Cheating.  Deceit.  Cruelty.  Irresponsibility.  Dishonesty.

There are policies in place to show pupils the boundaries of what is acceptable.

At Brighouse High School we use the working definitions of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development provided by the Ofsted Framework.

Spiritual Development

Effective provision for spiritual development depends on a curriculum and approaches to teaching which embody clear values and provide opportunities for pupils to gain understanding by developing a sense of curiosity through reflection on their own and other people’s lives and beliefs, their environment and the human condition. It relies on teachers receiving and valuing pupils’ ideas across the whole curriculum, for example, in literature, art, music, history and religious education. Acts of collective worship play a particular part. To the extent that spiritual insights imply an awareness of how pupils relate to others, there is a strong link to both moral and social development. Although religious education and spiritual development are not synonymous, religious education can make a significant contribution to spiritual development.

Moral Development

The essence of moral development is to build a framework of values which regulate personal behaviour through principles rather than through fear of punishment or reward. With support the youngest pupils are able to make moral decisions about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Older pupils are able to make moral decisions through the application of reason, even though they may not cope quite so securely with problems in which they are emotionally involved: in other words, their learning about moral issues may be at a different point from their behaviour. Moral and social education are closely related and depend on the school fostering values such as honesty, fairness and respect for truth and justice. Social Development

Social development hinges on an acceptance of group rules and the ability to set oneself in a wider context. For young children and those in PRUs, learning how to relate to others and take responsibility for their own actions is an important part of their education. Adolescents may find that the need to be socially compliant is sometimes at odds with their developing moral sensibility. Partly for this reason, the quality of relationships in schools is of crucial importance in forming pupils’ attitudes to good social behaviour and self-discipline.

Cultural Development Cultural development is concerned with both participation in and appreciation of cultural traditions. The school’s approach should be active, with schools seeking to enrich its pupils’ knowledge and experience of their own and other cultural traditions, through the curriculum and through visits to art galleries, places of worship etc. A Whole School Approach To The Promotion Of Pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

How Do We Promote This?

 ETHOS positive attitudes and values; the atmosphere of the school; the quality of relationships; the ways in which the school helps pupils deal with conflicts, loss, grief or difficulties; sensitivity to others.

 THE CURRICULUM the origins of the universe; the purpose of life; the nature of proof; the uniqueness of humanity; the meaning of truth; other subjects.

 TEACHING AND LEARNING, should provide opportunities for pupils to:- discuss matters of personal concern develop relationships with adults and peers develop a sense of belonging to a community

be challenged by exploring the beliefs and values of others while deepening their knowledge and understanding of their own faith or beliefs

discuss religious and philosophical questions

understand why people reach certain decisions on spiritual and moral issues, and how those decisions affect their lives

experience what is aesthetically challenging experience silence and reflection

 COLLECTIVE WORSHIP, should offer opportunities to:- explore and share beliefs consider the importance of prayer, meditation and silence consider the relevance of religious beliefs and their own lives think about the needs of others and develop a sense of community appreciate the importance of religious beliefs to those who hold them.