MAKING THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES TO

DEVELOP CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY

Marilyn CowlingIndependent Consultant

(RE/RS, SMSC, pedagogy, AfL)

Email: mossmother@hotmail.co.ukTel: 07764577064

OFSTEDWithin the Ofsted 2012 Inspection Framework SMSC is judged under attainment, the quality of teaching, behaviour and safety, leadership and management of the school and overall effectiveness.

When Ofsted teams gather evidence there is a separate heading to capture SMSC – in other words, the expectation is that SMSC will be threaded through the whole school community and curriculum. Ofsted will be asking pupils about their experiences in school. This is not as daunting as it sounds – your school is probably giving plenty of opportunities to develop SMSC. The purpose of this workshop is to help you identify and make the most of the opportunities to develop the spiritual.

OFSTED:What do we mean by spiritual development?Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their:

Beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s feelings and values

Sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, including the intangible

Use of imagination and creativity in their learning Willingness to reflect on their experiences

Ofsted is not looking to catch schools out, rather it will welcome those schools that are able to say, with confidence, that they are making a contribution to SMSC through collective worship, the curriculum and wider opportunities.

See good practice exemplification on Ofsted website:

Middleton Moor PrimaryLipsom Community College

“…the many religions of Homo sapiens are the richly varied cultural responses of human beings to their natural spiritual awareness”

“each person has their own spiritual signature, a way of looking at human identity that is as individual as a finger print”

(Rebecca Nye, Spirit of the Child)

SPIRIT OF THE CHILD

WHERE DO WE START?Visualisation:Take a learning walk around your school.Walk into the entrance/reception area, look around what do you see, what do you hear. What ethos does this convey?As you walk into the main part of school, perhaps going to your classroom or to the staff room or some other place you regularly visit, what do you observe on the walls, the state of the displays, what is happening in classes as you pass…How do staff and pupils greet each other …Take a look round the room in which you spend most time, can you see any questions displayed to prompt reflection, any motivating quotes (for adults and pupils), photographs of pupils engaged in learning…How are the chairs and tables organised, does this plan foster dialogue…Pick up a lesson plan and look for any aspect that will prompt reflection, wondering, questions about meaning and purpose…

Share what we saw and thought about…

NOT JUST IN RE!All subjects can make a contribution to the spiritual development of children and young people through the content (i.e. what is taught – the subject matter) and the processes (i.e. the skills/attributes and the teaching/learning strategies) used. Would a greater emphasis on spiritual development

change what and how we teach? Can we identify opportunities for spiritual

development in our planning How do we know that our pupils are responding to

the opportunities for spiritual development that we provide for them? (The ‘so what?’)

How does the way our curriculum is organised support and/or hinder spiritual development?

GODLY PLAY

Some possible approaches to support spiritual development

Silence to promote deep thinking/reflection, visualisation, stilling

Listening to music to aid thinking/reflection Creating music in response to thinking/reflection Prayer Reflecting on works of art – their meaning and

symbolism Creating art in response to thinking/reflection Exploring the meaning of story (especially religious and

spiritual) Writing stories/poetry to express meaning and emotions

Discussion about feelings and responses (P4C, community of enquiry)

Circle time Reflection diaries Responding to big questions - asking big/rich

questions Questions -’I wonder…’ at least once a day Big question walls; ‘www’ wall (we were

wondering) Can of worms tin (any ? Any time) Activities to stimulate the imagination and

creativity e.g. play Think pair share, thinking hats, group work Self and peer assessment

Imaginative teaching strategies – use of Godly Play; role play; freeze frames, hot seating

Plan learning from pupils own experiences Use of the senses and alternative forms of

expression Higher order questions/thinking HOTS – Blooms

taxonomy Spirited Arts competition www.natre.org.uk Outcomes worthwhile and authentic (of use to the

community) displayed Meaningful homework such as learning logs see

www.learninglogs.co.uk Make notes without words while a story is read to

them, create a shape with clay or play dough about a part of the story which they find interesting or makes them think

Thought/word for the week is articulated throughout the school community in all communications

Displays in prominent places reflecting the values of the school

SMSC:a Christian Perspective Diocese of Norwich

1. As a school/subject leader/key stage/department/faculty what contribution do, can, or shouldthe different curriculum areas make to the spiritual development of our pupils/students– both in terms of the content we cover and the processes we adopt (e.g teaching and learningstrategies engaged with)?

2. Think of how you currently organise your school’s curriculum or subject area’s scheme ofwork. What are its current strengths in terms of helping children/young people developspiritually (morally, social and culturally)? How do you know? What might/do you need tochange to make further improvements?

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

3. How might approaches to curriculum design and delivery such as themed or topic basedlearning or the creative learning journey in the primary school and project or problem basedlearning in the secondary school support spiritual development opportunities through the skillsand processes such approaches might encourage? What opportunities do exam subjects provide andhow do you build on them?

4. How might learning outside the classroom opportunities promote the development of spiritualcapacities? http://www.lotc.org.uk/

WHAT CONTRIBUTION CAN/DOES MY SUBJECT MAKE TO MY SCHOOL’S PROVISION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR THESPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND HOW DO THE PUPILS RESPOND?Four questions to think about and focus on:How does MY CURRICULUM AREA in MY SCHOOL: provide pupils/students with knowledge and insight into values and religious beliefs and enable them to reflect on their experiences in a way which develops their self-knowledge, self- esteem and spiritual awareness? contribute to teaching the principles which separate right from wrong and help pupils/students to act on these principles appropriately? encourage pupils/students to relate efficiently to others, take responsibility, participate fully in the community and develop an understanding of citizenship? teach pupils/students to appreciate and develop their own cultural traditions and appreciate the diversity and richness of other cultures?

1. As a school/subject leader/key stage/department/faculty what contribution do, can, or should we make to provision of opportunities for the spiritual development of the pupils/students we teach? How can we identify such opportunities within our planning? How would a greater emphasis on this dimension of human experience change what we teach and the ways in which we teach it? How do we know how our pupils/students respond to the opportunities we provide for/with them?

2. Think of a lesson or group of lessons taught recently - if you had been focusing on its contribution to the provision of opportunities for spiritual development and how your pupils/students respond to this, how might you have changed: • your planning? • your delivery? • the activities you expected from the pupils/students? • your assessment activities and approaches?