SMSC, British Values & our Assembly Programme

At Moss Park Primary School, the development of pupils’ Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural education is considered to be a whole school priority and one through which we make explicit our aims and values. Our school motto is Achieving Excellence Together and these three words sum up the ethos that permeates the life of our school.

The pupils voted for our new school values, Teamwork, Friendship, Perseverance and Respect. Pupils who consistently demonstrate respect and consideration for others are rewarded with a place at our Hot Chocolate Friday event with the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher.

In school we give an important place to the social, moral, spiritual and cultural values of pupils. In all aspects of the school’s work and life and in our curriculum, teaching and learning we seek good and appropriate opportunities for pupils grow in their spiritual awareness. We work hard to promote a good understanding of moral and ethical values to underpin our ethos and to provide foundations for good relationships within our community. As pupils grow and mature we place great importance on developing their social skills and social awareness. They learn about their own culture and about the diversity of cultures in our community, in this country and across the world. They learn about the contribution people from all backgrounds, races and religions have made to the development of Science, the Arts, Sport, Politics, Enterprise and Society.

How we promote British Values

At Moss Park Primary School, we understand that the four identified British Values should underpin the teaching of the primary school curriculum. We recognise the four main British Values as: Democracy, Individual Liberty, Rule of Law, Mutual Respect (including tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs or of no faith). Moss Park Primary School recognises all four areas should be taught explicitly in individual lessons, such as Personal, Social, Health Education, including Citizenship and through the more ‘hidden areas’ of the curriculum, such as teaching manners, teamwork, listening to others and respecting opinions. We draw on these values in our comprehensive assembly programme and every other year we have a half term where we focus on the British Values.

Democracy

Children are taught from an early age that we live in a fair and just country and that if a big decision or change is about to take place that they should have a say or an opinion. MoPPS children are encouraged to take part in voting activities, such as electing classroom monitors, school council representatives and some decisions to be made in class and around school. We even chose our new values and our school motto! Children on the school council will also experience the democratic process through school council committee meetings. Children in Key Stage One and Two study historic events or current affairs regarding the democratic process in this country and how this may differ from other countries around the world.

Individual Liberty

Children are taught about freedom of speech and how the country we live in is a free country, which means we can say what we think as long as it is polite and within the law. Older children may look at stories and case studies through history, when individual liberty was not commonplace – comparing the past with the present.

Rule of Law

Children are made aware of what the law in this country means and how it helps to protect the local and wider community with live in. Children are made aware of how the law of the land may differ to that of other countries. MoPPS children are enabled to understand this through everyday school routines, such as rules for good behaviour, class charters, etc. We also arrange many visitors from the local community to come into school, such as a local police to talk about their role in the law. Each year we join the Greater Manchester Magistrates Mock Trial Competition and we have won twice in the last five years!

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

We expect and promote equality throughout the school and celebrate the rich and ever-changing tapestry of our school family. We believe this is what makes our school a unique place and encourage parents and volunteers to share their experiences with us. For example, holding assemblies and events to celebrate wide ranging religious festivals, such as Eid, Diwali, Christmas as well as raising awareness of minority faiths. Other examples include parent and staff volunteers and music and dance workshops led by outside visitors.

Assemblies/Collective Worship

We use video clips, music, games and stories in our assemblies to capture the children's imagination and help them understand the world. We might focus on themes such as 'respect' or 'friendship' and we also cover festivals around the world to reflect our multicultural make up. We link themes together to show that there is more that unites us than divides us - for example festivals of light, spiritual journeys, harvest and new year. Our assemblies are inclusive for those of all faiths or none. In assemblies, all we need is "our eyes, our ears, our hearts and our minds". We plan assemblies on a 2 year cycle so that we can include all the major festivals and special days, weeks and months (there are often multiple celebrations in the same time period and we can't cover everything). This also means that pupils will have more in depth understanding of key themes because they have heard them twice, at an age appropriate level, over their time here at Moss Park Primary School. We recognise that in our school there are children from all faiths and none. There is a reflection opportunity at the end of all our assemblies. The headteacher may then read a non-denominational prayer to sum up the theme of the assembly, with the option to join in at the end if they would like to make the prayer theirs too. We wrote a new School Prayer (or Affirmation) in 2024 and we use this in class and in the hall.  Assemblies give us time in the day to think about what is important to us - and there is always a song for us to sing or music to listen to!

This is our school.

It is where we belong.

In our Moss Park team,

We show respect to everyone we meet.

We offer friendship to others.

We do our best and never give up.

We are so proud of our school.