Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development & Growth
The National Church of England Academy’s vision is ‘Life in all its fullness’ and as a result we place great importance on developing the whole student, not just focusing on academic excellence. Therefore, we aim to promote SMSC (Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development) throughout all aspects of academy life.
SMSC is delivered both in and outside of the classroom. Whilst religious studies and personal development cover some distinct areas such as crime and consequence, democracy, and media and the news, all subjects contribute to its delivery, making it a core part of our curriculum.
Outside of the classroom SMSC is developed through activities such as:
- extra-curricular clubs
- educational visits
- enrichment days
- sixth form enrichment sessions
- tutor package, including ‘thought for the day’
- Collective Worship
- ARCH values
- community projects
- academy displays focussed on SMSC
- themes for the week
- student support structure
Character education
We provide students with life experiences that enhance their personal development, linking with our local community and professional business organisations to support this work. Together with delivering aspirational and educational talks to our students, we take groups on external visits to contextualise learning. Local businesses also support with mock interviews and careers information.
Students in 6th form undertake work experience, ideally related to the career or education path they wish to follow. They select, apply for and interview for roles to enable them to understand the world of work and find out more about what they may aspire to do in the future.
Being visible in the local community is also very important for the academy. For example, our links with Annesley Lodge, our support of the Hucknall foodbank, and our work with the local churches enrich our students’ experience and help to emphasise our core academy values.