Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Ethos

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students underpins all our aims. It’s about making sure that we do all we can to help our students develop into self-assured, confident, happy, positive young people. Students need opportunities to talk about their feelings and justify them in both informal and formal settings. They need to be given responsibility and trust to develop their confidence. Students are encouraged to question things and to balance right and wrong. At Shevington High School, we develop these traits by celebrating achievement and encouraging Students to have the confidence to undertake difficult tasks and enjoy a wide range of experiences.

This dimension to every student’s learning is promoted, both within lessons and in extra-curricular activities. Here is just a flavour of how this important dimension is celebrated in the life of the school:

Spiritual

KS3 students study six major religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. The study of these religions includes looking at religious texts and gaining an understanding of different beliefs and practices. In Year 9 students will also learn about different philosophical concepts and compare spiritual teachings to secular/humanist thought.

PD lessons explore healthy lifestyles. Students are encouraged to reflect on what the world will look like if obesity and global warming continue.

Students have opportunities to reflect on learning experiences both in and out of lessons. For example, team talks following sports matches to reflect on how the game was played and agree the next steps; a reflective log in music lessons where students assess what they have done well and identify the next steps to make progress.

In Science lessons, students study various topics that contributes to their perspective on life

In PE Students have to lead other Students in warm ups, captaincy, drills etc Sportsmanship and Muscular Christianity: Playing games hard but fair! Sporting etiquette: how to behave and govern ourselves

Moral

In RE lessons there is a strong emphasis on ethics where students study subjects addressing issues such as crime, drug abuse and euthanasia.

In MFL moral dilemmas are discussed such as what we would do if we won the lottery and how we can help solve world issues such as famine. We have discussed environmental issues in certain African countries and also looked at how we can lead a more healthy lifestyle and what issues young people face in society,

Students show an interest in & respect for other people’s feelings and values. For example in Science lessons where students may not wish to watch a dissection of the heart. We would expect all feelings to be appreciated, and accepted, in a mature manner.

Within lessons, students investigate and offer reasoned views about moral and ethical issues. For example, ‘what makes someone racist?’ or ‘should we have capital punishment in the Uk?’

Fund raising activities always have a high profile within the school. Students have recently been involved with making posters and collecting donations for World Aid’s Day in association with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In March 2013 students throughout the school have been involved in raising money for Comic Relief including: cake sales, car washes, sponsored events, to name but a few

In Design Technology KS4 students look at consumer rights and safety in the workplace. Students also look at manufacturing and working conditions/fair-trade/ethical trading and are encouraged to raise questions about the effect of technological change on human life and the world around them.

History is about people. What motivates people, how they live and how they behave in situations in the past. This is relevant to today and the future. Circumstances may change but people stay the same. History encourages Students to study people in the past and understand how we have got to where we are.

KS3 Drama students look at a vast array of Moral issues:- Morals & Ethics explored through story of the ‘Pied Piper’. ‘Bullying’ explored through script work, scenarios and poetry. Aboriginal folktale and traditions explored through the story of ‘Min-na-way.  Racism & Education explored through the play ‘Detention’ by David Calcutt.  Genocide, discrimination and Holocaust explored through the story of ‘Rose Blanche’.  Crime & Punishment explored through the story of ‘Derek Bentley & Capital Punishment’.  Self-respect, obeying the law, violence & relationships explored through ‘Alcohol & Respect’ and the play    ‘Too Much Punch for Judy’.  Greed, power and corruption explored through the Shakespeare play ‘Macbeth’

KS4 Drama students explore human failures explored through the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. Abuse and violence explored through poetry, song lyrics and extracts of a novel. Bullying, friendship , effects of war and abuse explored through the play ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ by Dennis Potter. Media pressures, pursuit of power, wealth explored through the topic of ‘Fame’. Friendship, betrayal, lies and secrets explored through the play ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell.

Social

The warm relationships enjoyed by students with their teachers is commented on by all visitors to the school. Students talk about group work overwhelmingly positively:

At Shevington High there is a willingness to participate in a variety of social settings. Expectations for learning are carefully transferred from classroom, to ICT suite, to Library. There is a willingness to participate in lessons in different ways. In a recent pupil feedback session, many explained how random name generators and hands down questioning, used in a variety of lessons, encourages all students to put forward ideas and helps everyone to participate

In Year 9 History, students study the topic of Nazi rule during WWII. Students work collaboratively with one another.  Team work in PE lessons helps to develop leadership skills as well as a team work ethic

There are also lots of opportunities for self and peer assessment which help students to be resourceful and resilient.

In Design Technology students share resources and equipment in the classroom and create and develop practical results to different problems.

Cultural

The cultural environment of the school is a warm and caring one created so that students may thrive

Student successes are celebrated in as many ways as possible; posters around the school, achievement assemblies and celebration evenings all help to show students how they are valued as individuals. It is always heart-warming to see students celebrating the achievements of their peers.  Displays celebrate and value both academic and extra-curricular achievements throughout the school.

This year in MFL, we have run a Christmas Market trip to Paris for GCSE students, organised a university talk about university life and languages in Britain and around the world for Year 8 and 9 Students and ran a successful ‘Polyglotz’ day for primaries where Students studied Mandarin, French, Spanish and Italian.

The PE department ran a Ski trip, Wimbledon trip and a theatre trip the London to give pupil cultural experiences.

Shevington High School has been thrilled to work with our colleagues at Millbrook Primary School to welcome a group of young Romanian Students and staff to Wigan

The Mathematics department compare nations and their wealth; What would you spend ÂŁ1,000,000 on; The History of Algebra; Asian Square Roots; Eastern Maths and the invention of zero – just to name a few. Also as part of the Numeracy Champions Y6 Students came to Shevington to spend the day looking at the theme Japan – this involved looking at exchange rates, transformations, bar charts/pictograms on weather and Origami; the Japanese art of paper folding.

Students in Design Technology research and gather information relating to Icons, Artists and crafts people and use this to develop and inspire their own work.  They are given the opportunity to explore the diets of different religions, multicultural food products and special dietary needs and consider cultural influences on design.