Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development in the Early Years

What is SMSC?

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

Spiritual: explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.
Moral: recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.
Social: investigate moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the fundamental values of British democracy.
Cultural: appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

SMSC in the Early Years

SMSC development is now referenced throughout Ofsted’s School Inspection Handbook. In the Early Years, we have a thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development and their physical well-being.

British Values in the Early Years

The Department for Education has introduced a statutory duty for all UK schools to promote and teach fundamental British Values. At Ernesettle Community School, we take our responsibility very seriously to prepare our learners for life in modern Britain.

We value and recognise the multi-cultural, multi-faith and ever-changing nature of the United Kingdom and undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate and explore other cultures in our country and the wider world. In the Early Years, we ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the every-day learning and ethos of our Early Years provision.

In the Early Years setting, we make considerable efforts to ensure that our learners have exposure to a wide variety of learning experiences beyond the local community, through educational visits, visitors, workshops and sporting events. All these opportunities provide a purposeful platform for embracing difference and diversity.