SMSC Statement 

At Aspire School we are proud to embed Social, Moral, Cultural and Spiritual provision into the fabric of our practice. 

Our ethos of 'Individual for All, Aspirational for Everyone' works harmoniously in conjunction with the way that a strong SMSC provision is incorporated into our school for the benefit of all of the Aspire community. 

Our demonstration of British Values is threaded throughout our curriculum and displayed proudly to ensure that all pupils feel and know that their education is grounded in these principles. 

The School Council, made up of a selection of pupils from across the key stages have been voted in by their peers based on their merit, conduct and contributions they have shared. They meet weekly and ensure that the pupil voice is clearly heard amongst the staff and wider community to establish a robust interconnection where the pupil voice is not just heard, but respected and considered in all decision making. 

Opportunities for Social, Moral, Cultural and Spiritual Development

At Aspire School we always want to make certain that our pupils are exposed to a rich and broad curriculum that in turn supports their development and wellbeing. These opportunities award our pupils the chance to develop holistically and are set in place to incorporate both the curriculum and personal development. 

A taste of the opportunities afforded to our pupils include:

• Forest School 
• Live animals on site
• Singing assemblies
• Makaton Choir
• Awards ceremonies
• Whole school reward systems which encourage respect and and achievement
• Off-site visits to places of worship
• School Council
• Swimming Lessons
• A wide range of therapies
• After school clubs
• Sport trips
• Suggestion boxes available to all pupils

Wider coverage of SMSC throughout the school

Aspire School is a specialist provision designed uniquely for the pupils which we cater for, whose central needs are with either ASD or Speech & Language. 

Throughout the school we are co-developing displays to reinforce both the school ethos as well as British Values. The celebration of these are demonstrated throughout what we do at Aspire. 

The British Values are:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Each one of these values is as important as the other and that is the approach we have taken to ensure that they are all equally embodied throughout the school. 

Democracy 

Democracy is best represented by our School Council. The members of this are elected by their peers based on a variety of factors. We have a new election each term and every child across both the key stages are afforded the opportunity to put themselves forward. 

Each week at our School Council meetings, we regularly vote on matters such as playground equipment, allotment and wildlife gardens, new learning opportunities, as well as a variety of other topics. 

The School Council have represented both their peers and the school itself, they have met with new members of staff and have worked together to ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to contribute through the design and installation of new suggestion boxes.

The Rule of Law

Ensuring our pupils feel both safe and secure is fundamental to us at Aspire. With a robust behaviour policy, admin lead for Class Dojo and a whole school reward based behaviour management system, we make sure our pupils understand and respect our rules and both encourage and award positive behaviours.

The use of a reward trolley which allows pupils to accrue tokens through positive behaviours to earn prizes ensures that there is a clear and consistent approach to behaviour management which helps pupils manage their feelings and have respect for our agreed ways of working.

Individual Liberty

Individuality is key to us at Aspire and is highlighted in our ethos 'Individual for All, Aspirational for Everyone'. We work to encourage pupils to develop their self-esteem, make positive contributions to their environment and understand the benefits of making the right choices. 

Examples of empowering our pupils includes working as a team to go litter picking in our local area. This made a great positive impact to our local environment and allowed our pupils to be recognised for the caring and considerate young people that they are.

Being supported in making the right choices through our Team Teach approach, as well as actively working towards creating an environment which works for everyone through developing understanding of both themselves and their peers, gives our pupils the power to make valuable impacts on the lives of the members of our school community.

Mutual Respect

Encouraging favourable communications amongst our pupils is a key part of their development at Aspire. This is encouraged through embedding mutual respect both into our curriculum, and our interactions with each other. 

Our curriculum affords pupils the opportunities to learn about and explore a wide array of different cultures and religions. As pupils develop further up into Key Stage 2, they are taught about a wider range of inclusivity with same-sex relationships, mental health and a wide range of other matters. 

This embedding of such subjects into our curriculum allows us to widen the cultural exposure which our young people have. The inclusive nature of the staff also allows excellent modelling of respecting others to take place daily, ensuring that differences can be put aside and the attributes of someone are defined by the personality and kindness which they demonstrate rather than anything else. 

Tolerance

At Aspire we embrace differences and individuality. It is absolutely at the core of everything that we do. We promote awareness of differences through our classroom and corridor displays and ensure that we all respect the views and perspectives of others through quality teaching. 

By developing a curriculum across the school which incorporates a wide range of high quality texts, different faiths, as well as a number of other matters which could be prone to prejudices, we are able to effectively model and teach tolerance through sharing knowledge around the views of others. By allowing our pupils to understand the views held by others, they are then able to make informed decisions which are not misguided through misinformation. 

Personal Development Statement 

At Aspire, we believe that the ability to holistically develop our children relies on a solid PSHE curriculum that performs homogeneously with both SMSC and RSE. The   PSHE curriculum at Aspire is called the Personal Development Curriculum and has been developed to incorporate both SMSC and RSE, ensuring an unvarying, streamlined, and consistent approach is taken when teaching our children the skills required to function in an ever-changing world. This then empowers them to approach new challenges with confidence, dexterity, and a degree of readiness, required to overcome any adversities they may face. 

The vision for all children, staff, and stakeholders is to always make every effort, give one's all, and do one's utmost to achieve the best which we are capable of. Our ethos of 'Individual for All, Aspirational for Everyone' reflects this and is permeated through our culture. 

Programme of Study

Aspire school has adopted the PSHE Association's SEND planning framework to build our curriculum. The layout of this particular framework lends itself to Aspire's 'Life Skill Ladders', ensuring that children have established a secure knowledge of any particular area, before embarking on the next stage. This allows children to build upon strong foundations learned early on, throughout their time at Aspire.

Throughout our Personal Development    Curriculum, opportunities are presented for pupils (where appropriate/possible) to:

• Experience taking and sharing responsibility.

• Feel positive about themselves and others.

• Reflect on their perceptions and experiences.

• Develop the understanding, language, communication skills, and strategies required to exercise personal autonomy wherever possible.

• Carry out or take part in daily personal living routines.

• Make real decisions (with support where necessary so that they can act upon them).

• Take part in group activities and make contributions.

• Develop and maintain positive relationships and interactions with others.

• Recognise and celebrate their achievements and successes.

Implementation 

Aspire school categorises all classes into one of three 'Pathways'. These are judged through joint conversations between the class teacher and senior leaders, taking into account the needs of the children, and their particular learning styles. 

For Aspire, this means that Personal Development    may be implemented differently depending not only on the year group, or key stage, but the pathway on which a class is designated. This vast range of teaching styles allows all of our children to grow their knowledge and skills individually, with tailored sessions focussing on particular development points for all children. 

There are also whole-school approaches to areas of our Personal Development    curriculum which are rooted throughout all year groups. Emotional regulation, for example, is taught and developed for each class, however, our use of Zones of Regulation, means that clear links to the management of emotions and co-regulation are laid out explicitly to all children, staff, and stakeholders, allowing children a consistent approach to this, throughout their time at Aspire.

RSE Statement

At Aspire School, the well-being of our children is key to everything we do. Children learn to build, maintain and repair relationships through a considered and carefully paced Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) Curriculum. A culture of openness, respect, tolerance, and contemplated judgement on behalf of the staff allows children to question and explore aspects of the RSE curriculum that are appropriate to them. An eagerness to learn in this topic is treated the same as it would be in any other and curiosity is both cultivated and encouraged to assure that children are given the tools to make their own choices.

Throughout a child's time at Aspire, they will be introduced to the NSPCC's 'Talk PANTS' conversation, educating them on consent, privacy, and speaking up. 

P - Privates are private

A - Always remember your body belongs to you

N - No means no

T - Talk about secrets that upset you 

S - Speak up, someone can help

Programme of Study

At Aspire, we recognise that part of our role of 'Keeping Children Safe in Education', includes empowering our children to recognise and understand; what a healthy and respectful relationship is, the importance of boundaries and consent, as well as the wider understanding of relationship formation and maintenance. 

A phased approach to the curriculum, blended with the holistic view of the child which incorporates their readiness for certain sensitive topics is used to ensure that children are taught the appropriate material at the level right for them to make certain that they are able to keep themselves and others safe and able to maintain healthy, age-appropriate relationships.

Implementation

At Aspire, children are viewed as individuals with their learning styles, views of understanding, opinions, and levels of engagement. This means that the implementation of the RSE curriculum varies differently between classes, however, the foundations of it remain the same throughout the key stages. Teachers are expected to judge the capacity of their children to engage with certain aspects of the RSE curriculum, whilst ensuring that they are sequencing lessons at appropriate paces to secure progression in their children. Teachers work in conjunction with senior leaders and parents to ensure a balanced delivery of both statutory and non-statutory guidance is delivered.