SMSC

Moral development in Gesher School

• providing a clear moral code as a basis for behaviour which is promoted consistently through all aspects of the school;
• promoting racial, religious and other forms of equality;
• giving children opportunities across the curriculum to explore and develop moral concepts and values – for example, personal rights and responsibilities, truth, justice, equality of opportunity, right and wrong;
• developing an open and safe learning environment in which children can express their views and practise moral decision-making;
• rewarding expressions of moral insights and good behaviour;
• highlighting breaches of agreed moral codes where they arise – for example, in the press, on television and the internet as well as in school;
• modelling, through the quality of relationships and interactions, the principles which they wish to promote – for example, fairness, integrity, respect for persons, children’ welfare, respect for minority interests, resolution of conflict, keeping promises and contracts;
• recognising and respecting the codes and mores of the different cultures represented in the school and wider community;
• encouraging children to take responsibility for their actions- for example, respect for property, care of the environment and developing codes of behaviour;
• providing models of moral virtue through literature, humanities, sciences, arts, assemblies and acts of worship;
• reinforcing the school’s values through images, posters, classroom displays, screensavers, exhibitions, etc.

Social development in Gesher school

• fostering a sense of community, with common, inclusive values;
• promoting racial, religious and other forms of equality;
• encouraging children to work co-operatively;
• encouraging children to recognise and respect social differences and similarities;
• providing positive collective experiences – for example, through assemblies, team activities, residential experiences, school productions;
• helping children to develop personal qualities which are valued in a civilised society, for example, thoughtfulness, honesty, respect for difference, moral principles, independence, inter-dependence and self-respect;
• helping children to resolve tensions between their own aspirations and those of the group or wider society;
• providing a conceptual and linguistic framework within which to understand and debate social issues;
• providing opportunities for engaging in the democratic process and participating in community life e.g. school council where possible;
• providing opportunities for children to exercise leadership and responsibility;
• providing positive and effective links with the world of work and the wider community.

Cultural development in Gesher school

• providing opportunities for children to explore their own cultural assumptions and values;
• presenting authentic accounts of the attitudes, values and traditions of diverse cultures and addressing racism and promoting race equality;
• extending children’ knowledge and use of cultural imagery and language;
• recognising and nurturing particular gifts and talents;
• providing opportunities for children to participate in literature, drama, music, art, crafts and other cultural events and encouraging children to reflect on their significance;
• developing partnerships with outside agencies and individuals to extend children’ cultural awareness.
• auditing the quality and nature of opportunities for children to extend their cultural development across the curriculum;

Protected Characteristics

The Equality Act says that schools should eliminate discrimination by promoting tolerance and friendship and by sharing an understanding of a range of religions or cultures. The act uses the term “protected characteristics” to refer to aspects of a person’s identity. These nine protected characteristics have listed of equal status and cover all aspects of school life to do with how a school treats pupils and prospective pupils, parents and carers, employees, and members of the community.

Everything a school does must be fair, non-discriminatory and not put individuals or groups of people at a disadvantage. In particular, a school must not discriminate, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil in relation to any of the protected characteristics.

At Gesher, we pride ourselves in providing a school environment that celebrates individualism and recognizes our differences in a positive way.

Prevent Strategy

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.

At Gesher we are aware that under the ‘Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015’ we have the duty to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. This is known as the Prevent duty and we believe it is essential that school personnel are able to identify those who may be vulnerable to radicalisation or being influenced by extremist views, and to subsequently know what to do when they are identified.

We have a duty to actively promote and embed British values such as ‘democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’ within this school and to challenge pupils, school personnel or parents who express extremist views contrary to these values. We want to ensure pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain by the active promotion of and respect of British values. It is our duty to provide a safe place for pupils to discuss any issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.