SMSC: making an impact in and beyond the geography classroom Catherine Owen, The King Alfred School, Somerset

What is this session about? It is easy to ‘tick the box’ for SMSC in geography lessons, but how can we provide opportunities to make a real impact on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding of our students? This session will explore practical ideas for use in the classroom and encourage participants to share their own ideas and experiences.

What is 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 and moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the 'British values' of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and toleranceBritish values Cultural - Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity. From:

SMSC & OFSTED An 'outstanding' school will have a 'thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development' An 'inadequate' school will have 'serious weaknesses in the overall promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development'.

OFSTED: Spiritual development Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their: ability to be reflective about their own beliefs, religious or otherwise, that inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values: sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them use of imagination and creativity in their learning willingness to reflect on their experiences.

‘The study of real people in real places, and of our relationship with the environment, is at the heart of the geography curriculum.’ KAS examples: Year 7 – Wonderful world map – ‘awe and wonder’ Year 8 – Dennis’ diary – reflect on the feelings of a street child in Uganda What do you do in your school? What are the benefits of activities like this?

Wonderful world map…

Starter: Answer the questions below What’s your favourite sport? How old are you? Which football team do you support? Who’s your favourite musician? Which city do you live in? Which country do you live in?

Dennis His favourite sport is football He is 13 years Old He supports Manchester United His favourite rappers are Bobi wine and Jay Z He lives in Kisenyi slum which is in the Capital of Uganda, Kampala His home country is Uganda is in East Africa

We’re going to get to know Dennis and his friends

Geography detective Write down 4 things about Dennis and his life using the picture and some of the things highlighted to inform your judgments. Use the mystery cards to find out more about Dennis’ life. Write a diary entry for Dennis.

OFSTED: Moral development Pupils’ moral development is shown by their: ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong, readily apply this understanding in their own lives and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions interest in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues, and being able to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues.

‘Most geographical issues have a moral dimension. Environmental relationships, in particular, provide a wealth of opportunities for distinguishing a moral dimension.’ KAS examples: Year 7 – Food choices Year 8 – How should the coastline at Watchet be managed? What do you do in your school? What can prevent us from doing activities like this?

Food choices

How should the coast at Watchet be managed?

OFSTED: Social development Pupils’ social development is shown by their: use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds willingness to participate in a variety of communities and social settings, including by volunteering, cooperating well with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; the pupils develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.British values

‘Activities in the geography classroom -pair work, group work, role-play, geographical games - foster good social behaviour and self - discipline. However, through fieldwork geography makes a distinctive contribution to social development.’ What contribution does fieldwork make to SMSC in your school?

‘Geography also has a key role in developing an understanding of citizenship. For example, decision making exercises introduce pupils to the planning process in a town or city’ At KAS we often work with local community groups. A current project with the Neighbourhood planning group involves year 7 & 10 students making suggestions for the local area.

Do you have links with local groups? What links could you develop?

OFSTED: Cultural development Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their: understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain knowledge of Britain's democratic parliamentary system and its central role in shaping our history and values, and in continuing to develop Britain willingness to participate in and respond positively to artistic, sporting and cultural opportunities interest in exploring, improving understanding of and showing respect for different faiths and cultural diversity, and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their tolerance and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.

‘Through its study of real people in real places, geography makes a major contribution to cultural development…It is important to give as unbiased an image of a place as is possible.’ ‘This is particularly true for the study of distant localities which the pupils are unlikely to experience first hand. However, we will always be constrained by the resources available to us, and our view will inevitably be affected by our own attitudes and values. Consequently, part of our teaching about our own and other cultures should be the development of critical thinking skills so that pupils can analyse images for themselves. For younger pupils this could be as straightforward as asking them which of a set of photographs is their favourite, and why, while older pupils could be asked to consider why a particular photograph might have been taken and what might have been left out of the picture.’ From ‘Introducing India’ – GCSE Geography Teacher’s Toolkit.

Uganda project

‘Geography is a natural vehicle for exploring our own multicultural society.’ PROBLEM: The King Alfred School is in Burnham on Sea, a coastal town in Somerset. Our students are almost all white; they have limited experience of urban areas and multicultural society. We were criticised in our last OFSTED inspection as when questioned about inner city areas our students tended to revert to stereotypes. WHAT SOLUTIONS ARE THERE TO THIS PROBLEM?

Silas Zephaniah working with year 10 students on revision raps

British Values – Advice from OFSTED enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence; enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England; encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely; enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England; further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures; encourage respect for other people; encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England. From: /SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf /SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf

What are the key issues to tackle to improve SMSC in your geography lessons?

Useful links: n%20Geography.pdf n%20Geography.pdf nt_data/file/380595/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf nt_data/file/380595/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf