Spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development policies
SMSC policies allow you to meet the spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs of your pupils. See examples of SMSC policies from primary, secondary and special schools.
- Policies from primary schools
- Policies from secondary schools
- Policy from a special school
- Expert guidance on SMSC policies
Policies from primary schools
Voluntary aided (VA) school
St Peter's Brafferton Church of England VA Primary School in North Yorkshire combines its spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) policy with its British Values policy.
It covers the school’s commitments for each element of SMSC development, including:
- Celebrating the "religious and non-religious beliefs" of its pupils
- "Weaving global education themes" through its curriculum
The policy also explains that SMSC development is promoted in the wider life of the school.
Community school
Manuden Primary School in Essex uses its SMSC policy (you'll find it under 'Curriculum') to cover topics such as:
- School values
- How it implements SMSC teaching
- Links with the community
- The impact of SMSC development
To support monitoring and evaluation, the policy has a checklist for staff to use, including space to record evidence and next steps.
Academy
Great Ouse Primary Academy in Bedford has a GOPA SMSC policy covering:
- The importance of school values
- The use of class discussions
- Extra-curricular activities and links with the wider community
- Personal mentoring for pupils identified as vulnerable or needing additional support
- Staff professional development
Policies from secondary schools
Community school
Tibshelf Community School in Derbyshire has an SMSC policy that explains how SMSC development takes place across the curriculum, as well as during personal development days, tutor times, assemblies and visits from external providers.
The policy covers:
- Cross-curricular links
- Additional activities used to encourage pupils' SMSC development
- How SMSC provision is be monitored and evaluated
Academy
Orchards Academy, Kent, includes SMSC in its PSHE policy.
It includes information about:
- Key personnel involved in SMSC development (including specialist teams and outside agencies)
- How resources and learning materials are quality assured
- The school's working definitions for the 4 aspects
Policy from a special school
The Bridge School, an all-through community special school in Telford and Wrekin, has a dedicated SMSC/British Values/Cultural Capital page on its website.
It explains how SMSC is embedded throughout different subject areas and developed beyond the curriculum, e.g. with arts, music and cultural specialists visiting the school.
Expert guidance on SMSC policies
Bill Bolloten, one of our associate education experts who specialises in SMSC development, gave us the advice in this section.
What could an SMSC development policy include?
A policy could include sections on:
- What SMSC development is and a description of the 4 aspects
- Roles and responsibilities of school leaders and governors
- Expectations of staff
- Provision for staff development and training
- Monitoring and review
Questions to consider when writing an SMSC policy
- Pupils’ SMSC development is closely connected to the ethos and values of the school. How will the policy reflect this?
- Do we fully understand the requirements for schools to promote pupils’ SMSC development?
- There is no statutory requirement to have an SMSC policy. Why have we decided to develop one? Are we clear about what we would like it to achieve?
- What is the school’s vision for SMSC development? How will an SMSC policy support this vision?
- What is the context of the school? Are there any particular challenges to developing SMSC provision in our setting?
