The Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education (SMSC) of our students is at the core of everything we do. The nature of our students’ SEN means that they have particular difficulties with self-awareness, tolerance, empathy, making positive choices and participation. The language we use, the activities we plan for students in and out of the classroom, our weekly assemblies, our rewards and reparations work, are all set up to encourage SMSC development and this is at the forefront of our curriculum.

Because of the nature of our students’ personal challenges, they often find it hard to be tolerant of others. We encourage mutual respect and use restorative approaches to resolve incidents which occur between students to develop their empathy skills.

As well as weekly PSHE lessons and weekly assemblies, and the SMSC opportunities which are spread throughout the curriculum and enrichment activities, all students join their class for breakfast. A healthy breakfast (with the occasional treat!) is provided, along with the opportunity for students to sit together and join in structured talk to develop their social skills.