Personal Development and SMSC at Clanfield Junior School

At Clanfield Junior School, we believe that education is about much more than academic success — it’s about helping every child grow into a kind, confident, and responsible individual who is ready to make a positive difference in the world.

Our approach to Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural (SMSC) development is woven throughout school life. It shapes our curriculum, assemblies, behaviour expectations, and the many wider opportunities our children experience each day. 

What does this look like at CJS?

Here are just  some of the examples of how we develop SMSC at Clanfield Junior School: 

 

Spiritual Development

We encourage pupils to reflect, ask big questions, and develop a sense of curiosity about the world around them. Through lessons, assemblies, and experiences in nature, children are given opportunities to explore feelings of awe, wonder, and empathy. They learn to appreciate their own beliefs and values while respecting those of others.

• Harvest festival 

• Visits to our local church 

• Autumn, Spring and Summer fun day 

• Woodland outdoor activities and opportunities to be outside

• Pond dipping days 

• Holi ART 

• Remembrance poems at the church 

• Remembrance drone and musician event 

• Year 2 visits from local schools for nature adventures on our grounds  

• Reverend visits 

• Muslim visitor for Y5 and 6 

• New reading and writing curriculum which celebrates the environment and supports children with learning about diversity 

• Virtual author visits and workshops to inspire children with reading and writing 

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    3 children with Paul Sturgess

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    Paul Sturgess teaching children

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    Paul Sturgess world record certificate

   

Moral Development

Children are supported to make good choices and to understand their impact on others. We talk openly about fairness, honesty, and integrity, helping pupils to see how their actions affect others. Our school values – Be Kind, Be Resilient, Be Respectful, Be Curious – guide everything we do and help pupils build strong moral character. We have focused on understanding discrimination, misinformation and other highly relevant topics.

• School values and class rules 

• House points and STARS assemblies 

• Brain science assemblies and My Happy Mind lessons

• Assemblies linked to protected characteristics and the British values 

• Trauma aware approach- restorative conversations 

• Wrist bands for the school values 

• SCARF PSHE scheme

• Golden Tickets at Lunchtime  for our courtyard area

• Studying the poetry of Benjamin Zephaniah and creating their own linked to the themes of his work (including the environment, diversity and social justice) 

• New reading curriculum explores environmental issues and diversity 

• PECAN Workshops around protecting our oceans, climate 101 and sustainability 

• Pond dipping opportunities with STEM ambassador  

Socially:

At Clanfield Junior School, we place great importance on helping our children develop strong character and positive attitudes to learning and life. Through our curriculum, assemblies, and daily interactions, pupils are encouraged to reflect wisely, learn with curiosity, behave with integrity, and work cooperatively with others. We want every child at Clanfield to leave us not only with strong academic skills, but also with the confidence, compassion, and determination to thrive in the next stage of their education and beyond.

• Teaching the British values and relating to their own lives, decisions and behaviours

• Every day volunteering roles such as- library monitors, watering plants, welcome buddies, tuck shop, laptops, and other helpful jobs

• Specialist volunteering roles such as school council reps who have led great changes across the school,  Clanfield Rangers who care for our environment and educate other pupils, Community Ambassadors- helping our local community, Assembly prefects who evaluate our efforts and commitment to school values

• Guide dog visit to year 3 

• Harvest Festival learning, assembly and food bank donations 

• Fire visit- year 5 day 

• Head teacher assemblies on protected characteristics, diversity and discrimination (see separate document for themes) 

• Blind artist assembly and workshops by Clarke Reynolds 

• Helping with Nature adventures for year 2 children from local schools

• Brent lodge visit and fundraising

• Remembrance Sunday at the church 

• Blue Cross Talks- Pets and our wellbeing 

• JRSO platinum award 

• Residential trips for yr 4 and yr 6 

• New school trips linked to our local area and aspirational visits

• Trips of special interest for children particularly interested in certain subjects, such as historians to the Mary Rose Museum, Scientists to HTC, Maths enthusiasts and budding writers to Aim High Day, animal lovers to Marwell, STEM enthusiasts to Churchers College and so many more!

• Internet safety day, extra lessons on being safe online

• Forces club-

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    Children making pizza

   

• Anti bullying week & odd socks day, mental health day 

• Reading with children from other year groups 

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    2 boys reading in the shade.

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    4 girls reading together.

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    Girls sat on a bench reading.

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    2 girls reading together.

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• VE Day visit to Swallows Court to share stories  

• Community ambassadors visiting Swallow Court to read with residents 

• Community ambassadors helping with Stay and Play 

• Improved outdoor areas with new toys and sports for all children

 

Cultural Development

We celebrate diversity and encourage children to be open-minded, respectful, and inclusive. Through our curriculum, themed days, and assemblies, pupils learn about different cultures, traditions, and faiths — helping them to value the richness of the world around them and to see difference as something to be embraced.

• Extra cricket, gymnastic, archery, dance and football enrichment sessions

• Pop up pool 

• Circus visit and skipping day 

• Paddle sports visit 

• Weekly music songs from different cultures 

• Sports day 

• Intra mural Football tournament  

• Diverse books within our English curriculum

• Diverse range of artists that we study

• Poetry competitions 

• Author, Petr Horáček (year 3) 

• Gardening enrichment sessions for all pupils

• School council meetings and fundraising events

• Muslim visitor for Y5 and 6 

• Colour splash celebrating Holi 

• World Book Week activities 

• Song of the Week showcasing music from different cultures and genres 

• Studying the poetry of Benjamin Zephaniah and creating their own linked to the themes of his work (including the environment, diversity and social justice)   

• Empathy Day Festival Virtual Visit: Lisette Auton, author of The Starlight Rebel - explaining the importance of disability and neurodivergent representation in books, how this inspired her characters and how this relates to empathy. 

• Visit from Paul Sturgess to discuss diversity and his life story