Transcript Presentation

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 tolerance
• Cultural - Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's
parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand,
accept, respect and celebrate diversity.
• From: http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/
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
How old are you?
Which country do
you live in?
Which football team
do you support?
Who’s your favourite
musician?
Which city do you
live in?
What’s your favourite
sport?
Dennis
He is 13 years Old
His home country is
Uganda is in East
Africa
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 favourite sport is
football
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.
‘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:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/380595
/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf
What are the key issues to tackle to improve SMSC
in your geography lessons?
Useful links:
• http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/
• https://www.learntogether.org.uk/Resources/Documents/SMSC%20i
n%20Geography.pdf
• https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachme
nt_data/file/380595/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf