Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

• Spiritual development: Spiritual development refers to the aspects of the child’s spirit which are enhanced by school life and learning, and may describe the ‘spirit’ of determination, sharing or open-mindedness. Personal Development can support this by promoting:
  Self-awareness - offering opportunities for pupils to reflect on their own views and how they have been formed, as well as the views of others.
  Curiosity - encouraging pupils’ capacity for critical questioning and allowing time and space where these questions can be addressed to show they are important.
  Collaboration - utilising lesson techniques which engender group collaboration and communication such as circle time, debates and group investigations.
  Reflection - providing a space to reflect on pupils’ own values and views, as well as those of others, and to consider the impact of these values.
  Response - exploring ways in which pupils can express their responses to demanding or controversial issues.
  Values - promoting an ethos of fairness and mutual respect in the classroom and compassion and generosity in pupils though exploring inspiring examples of these qualities in others.
  Appreciation - encouraging pupils’ ability to respond with wonder and excitement by exploring some of the marvels and mysteries of the natural world, of human ingenuity, and examples of the capacity of humans to love, create, organise and overcome adversity.

• Moral development: Moral development is about exploring and developing pupils own moral outlook and understanding of right and wrong. Personal Development is extremely well-suited to exploring social and personal morality in significant ways:
  Valuing others - in exploring the views of others, young people are well-prepared to appreciate the uniqueness of all humans and their moral value, and to act in the world and towards others accordingly.
  Moral character development – Personal Development offers a safe space where pupils can learn from their mistakes, appreciate ideas of right and wrong, continue to strive after setbacks, take the initiative, act responsibly and demonstrate resilience.
  Moral diversity - activities in Personal Development lessons help pupils feel confident when taking part in debates about moral issues. Debates and discussions prepare pupils for the fact that there will always be disagreement on matters of morality and their right of expression is balanced by a responsibility to listen to the views of others.

• Social development: developing children socially means giving them the opportunities to explore and understand social situations and contexts they may encounter in school or outside. In the Personal Development classroom, such social situations includes exploring:
  Shared values - opportunities to consider values which are or should be part of society, such as those associated with right and wrong, treatment of others or diversity.
  Idealised concepts - topics which require reflection on the abstract concepts our society is built on, such as justice, fairness, honesty and truth, and specific examples of how they affect our common life, such as issues of poverty and wealth, crime and punishment.
  Moral sources - a chance to reflect on where ideas about how we should behave come from.
  Influences - opportunities to explore and reflect on the great influence on individuals of family, friends, the media and wider society.
  Social insight - A chance to acquire insight into significant social and political issues which affect individuals, groups and the nation.
  Role models – Personal Development explores role models from the famous like Desmond Tutu, to the many local examples in the school and its community.

• Cultural development: By exploring different religious and non-religious worldviews, the children can gain knowledge of different cultures, learning tolerance and understanding of their diversity.