Caring - Connected - Resilient
School
News
Due to building works beginning on the ward in January 2024, the unit is temporarily closed to new admissions.
We are looking forward to welcoming pupils on site again as soon as possible and will share details here once we know when this can begin. Please do contact Gerry Robinson as Executive Head (gerry.robinson@haringey.gov.uk) or Lorraine Coady as Head of Classroom (lorraine.coady@nhs.net) should you have any questions about the service.
S M S C
Simmons House Classroom has been awarded the prestigious National SMSC GOLD Award
Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development (SMSC) Policy
including the promotion of Values for life in Modern Britain
Simmons House Classroom SMSC Statement
At Simmons House the primary focus is the health and wellbeing of each Young Person, with education regarded as an integral part of the treatment programme. Young People work with teaching staff to develop understanding of themselves as learners and members of their communities. As such, Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural Education plays a central role to the curriculum as it helps young people develop the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for their next step into the wider world, whether this involves moving to a new educational provision, home, or entering the world of work.
Teaching staff ensure that all opportunities are taken to develop collaborative and trusting relationships that will support and develop long-term success for students. Our aim is to provide a contained and caring learning environment where there is an opportunity to grow spiritually, morally, culturally, mentally and physically to ensure mutual respect and understanding. All members of the school community are encouraged to develop into responsible citizens through the promotion of our core values:
Care
Connection
Resilience
Aims
The school aims to create an ethos which fosters the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all young people. SMSC is developed through:
· the whole curriculum, with a focus on PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education)
· promoting values for life in modern Britain
· extra-curricular activities
· opportunities for ‘pupil voice’ and student leadership
· developing a sense of integrity, compassion and tolerance throughout the community which values self-esteem alongside respect for others
· enhancing opportunities for students to explore the wider world.
· promoting SMSC so that all students benefit from high quality teaching and learning which motivates, challenges and empowers them
The school is committed to offering young people the opportunities to:
· identify, reflect on and explore different social, spiritual and cultural experiences
· distinguish between right and wrong
· discuss moral issues
· develop and talk about their own attitudes and values
· take responsibility for their own decisions
· develop an understanding of social responsibilities and citizenship
· celebrate a diversity of cultures.
The provision for SMSC and the promotion of values for life in modern Britain will be implemented using the following methods:
-
pupil voice gathered regularly and in a range of settings, e.g., 1:1 meetings, informal discussions, class discussions, formal group meetings
-
Individual Education Plans (IEP) and bespoke curriculum for each student
-
thought-provoking displays to encourage discussion surrounding SMSC and values for life in modern Britain
-
Class discussions and activities linked to current topics, the wider world and the celebration of main cultural18 events
-
The use of voting and ballots for practice exercises and group decision making where appropriate
-
Close working with the MDT including group leaders
-
Bringing in external presenters and tutors
-
Regular monitoring of the curricular and extra-curricular curricula by the SMSC lead
Votes for Schools:
Each week Votes for Schools sends us a topic and resources to help engage young people in generating and expressing their ideas and opinions, through discussion, debate, and casting a vote.
Votes for Schools is an award-winning platform dedicated to giving students a voice on the issues that affect them the most.
See the VFS Support document for detail on how VFS supports SMSC, British Values and Prevent.
Votes for schools: Be Informed. Be Curious. Be Heard.
Quality Marks and SMSC:
Unicef: rights respecting schools
Simmons House Classroom works with UNICEF to promote children's rights and has gained a Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) for this work which strongly supports many aspects of SMSC education. We believe it is every young person’s right to have a voice and express their thoughts, needs and feelings. We believe all of our students have right to be happy, to be heard, to participate and to contribute.
Anti bullying alliance:
all together schools
Simmons House Classroom achieved a Gold Award from the Anti-Bullying Alliance in 2018 in acknowledgement of the school’s actions to eliminate bullying. We continue to uphold the practices we established through ABA’s All Together Schools Programme including auditing and monitoring to ensure staff and students have a shared understanding of bullying and work to ensure appropriate behaviour and interaction in our classroom and unit.
citizenship foundation
smsc quality mark: GOLD
In 2022 we were awarded a Gold SMSC Quality Mark for our exemplary work in the field of spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning. We were assessed against the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development criteria that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum as outlined in the Ofsted School inspection Handbook. The external verifier evaluated the extent to which we met different pupils’ needs, including pupils with SEND. We applied for Silver and achieved Gold, and have been awarded Beacon School status which encourages us to share our best practice with other settings.