Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

Spiritual Moral Social Cultural (SMSC) development at Hove Park School & Sixth Form

At Hove Park SMSC is supported across the curriculum and beyond for example through our Every Child Should strategy which supports whole education and the development of the whole child beyond the formal curriculum.

 

A wide range of activities and after school clubs eg the Duke of Edinburgh Award allow students to develop socially and accumulate cultural capital.

 

Art-themed Project Days like the music from around the world day teach students about the cultural heritage of different countries and regions. Students get to appreciate the historical development of these creative arts and ties with that regional culture and history.


PSHE Project Days allow focus and expert input into important themes.

SMSC through the curriculum

As well as being addressed explicitly in PSHE and Philosophy Religion and Ethics (PRE) SMSC is addressed across the curriculum in all faculties for example.


SMSC in PSHE

We do not make assumptions about the views of parents and carers from particular faith backgrounds, however we aim to take into account the religious backgrounds of students in planning teaching.

 

We recognise that parents and carers have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from sex education delivered as part of statutory relationships and sex education up until three school terms before the young person turns 16. We will inform parents and carers of this right in the school welcome pack.


The PSHE education curriculum supports personal development, behaviour for learning including promoting attributes such as kindness, respect, consent, resilience and mental health and wellbeing. Our ambitious Project Days are also designed to give all students the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life.


English

In English students read and engage with a variety of texts written by authors from around the world to represent the global community and reflect our diverse cohort of students. Our reading lists have been updated to include more diversity e.g written by BAME authors. The majority of texts we study contain moral and cultural discussions e.g the treatment of women in Shakespeare’s time in comparison to the treatment of women in the Edwardian era or discussions about social responsibility in An Inspector Calls.



Maths

Students work collaboratively on problem solving and using social skills.


Science & Technology

Students reflect on the morality of current issues such as stem cell research, evolution and genetic testing as well on the explanations surrounding the origins of the universe. This furthers students’ ability to make informed choices and develop socially.


Languages

In Languages we endeavour to empathise with students in other languages and culture of the target language being studied. These often reflect an awareness of social deprivation in other parts of the world as well as awareness of the impact of global and climatic as well as financial considerations. When we work with schools abroad the project work tends to focus on deconstruction of stereotypes and promotion of shared global values.


Sport and Creative Arts

Students learn about the arts across many traditions, developing their understanding of other cultures and

reflect on the values and morals surrounding sporting ideals.


Humanities

An integral part of our PRE provision is recognition of the pupils own faith and spiritual journey whether that includes belonging or identification with a particular religion, or is a student developing their own world view. This is alongside the student learning about and from different religions and beliefs.

 

Rotary Club

It’s great to see partnerships developing between Brighton and Hove Soiree Rotary Club (B+HSRC) and Hove Park School. In in under 2 months the following are in place:


Duke of Edinburgh: B+HSRC are delighted that Hove Park has so many young people enrolled for their Bronze DofE. We’re planning to support the school to buy adventure equipment so that the young explorers have the right footwear to enjoy the experience safely. We’re also looking at ways to help youngsters fulfil the community service aspect of the Award.


Enrichment programme: B+HSRC has great links with inspirational young people – Rotary Scholars from all over the world who are studying at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University, members of Rotaract and young professionals. B+HSRC linked Hove Park with a recent Sussex University student who is now working as a medical writer and who has spent a year working in China. In February she’ll be taking part in the enrichment assembly.

Interact Club: Interact is a community service organisation (a junior version of Rotary). We’re planning on setting up a club with the younger students which will focus on two projects each year – one serving the local community and one with an international focus. We hope the club will be up and running for the Summer term 2020.


The Big Camp: We’re hoping to arrange for Shelterbox to bring one of their emergency shelters along to Hove Park School’s annual Big Camp. ShelterBox responds to natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The charity provides tents equipped with enough essential items to keep families alive in the immediate aftermath of an emergency. We hope that ShelterBox can erect one of its tents at the event so students can experience what basics are needed to keep life going in a disaster.

Miss school miss out poster
Miss school miss out poster
Miss school miss out poster

Together at Christmas

In 2019, the school together with local befriending charity, Time to Talk, organised a Christmas dinner on Christmas Day for over 90 local residents that would otherwise have been on their own at this time. 

Legal and General

In 2018 we signed a Community Partnership with Legal & General. This has provided a range of opportunities and experiences for our students, including GCSE Business Studies students meeting local start-up businesses, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) themed Dragon’s Den competition and an opportunity for a group of Year 11 students to support the call centre as part of the Children in Need fundraising night. 
Miss school miss out poster for secondary schools
Miss school miss out poster

The Hangleton & Knoll Project

As a school we believe that being part of our wider community is fundamental to what we do. Reaching out and being involved with local charitable organisations provides opportunities for students to support others within their community. We have worked with the Hangleton and Knoll Project for many years. Last year it was the principle beneficiary of the money raised through our Hove Park 5k run. However it has always been a mutually supportive relationship and because of our connection we have been able to access a wide variety of both cultural, sporting and community based opportunities for our students.

Peer Tutors

Our trained Peer Tutors are regularly in local primary schools supporting curriculum areas including Maths, Science and English. It has been lovely to see our students engage and support younger students whilst at the same time reinforce their own learning and leadership skills.
Miss school miss out poster for secondary schools

Rule of Law enrichment day

Our Year 7 students as part of an enrichment day spent time finding out about the Rule of Law in Britain.


 Students used information gathered through interviews, forensic evidence and other information to solve a fictitious criminal case. They then looked at how a case like this would be tried in court with arguments for and against in a court of law. They learnt key terminology through this session and also some of how the legal system works.

Hove Park in the community

Sussex Homeless Support

Hove Park School and Caterlink donates to Sussex Homeless Support

By Hove Park School • March 26, 2020
On Wednesday Hove Park School contacted Sussex Homeless Support to donate 50 sandwiches and boxes of fruit and crisps for the homeless of Brighton and Hove. Jim Dearn who runs Sussex Homeless Support came to our Nevill Campus and collected the food donations that our catering contractors Caterlink had prepared. Jim was very grateful in these difficult times and was heading straight out to take the fresh food down to the Clock Tower in Brighton where the homeless gather to receive food and essential supplies.

Together with our community

By Hove Park School • March 17, 2020
Dear All, These are challenging times for all of us. In these difficult times however it is important that we look out for, and look after the most vulnerable members of our wider community. With this in mind we have been in contact with the charity Time to Talk. You may remember we worked with them on our Together at Christmas event. Time to Talk are an award winning intergenerational befriending organisation that support members of our community tackling all types of loneliness through engagement, connection and friendship. I know that food and other household items have been in short supply however, in the spirit of kindness and looking out for others I’m asking that if you are able to donate items from the list below we will be putting together small packages to help vulnerable members of our community, at a time of need. We will also be getting students to write cards to show we are thinking of them and that in this current context of social distancing and isolation people still care. 2 x toilet rolls Hand soap Tinned soups and baked beans (with ring pulls if possible) UHT long life milk Biscuits and cakes Tinned fruit, custard, rice pudding (with ring pulls if possible) Tinned fish and meat (with ring pulls if possible) Pasta and jars of sauces Jam Tea bags, coffee and sugar Bread Instant porridge sachets and cereal All items can be dropped off at either campus, to the main school office. Best wishes, Jim Roberts Head Teacher

Christmas market 2019

By Hove Park School • December 6, 2019
What a wonderful evening! Last night Hove Park School hosted our now annual Christmas Market to raise much-needed funds for local mental health charities - Grassroots , Samaritans and Winston's Wish . It was a delightful community evening, with plenty of festive cheer. Many thanks to all those who helped organise the market, to the sellers and your amazing stalls, and the local community who came to support us and grab a bargain or two!
Sixth Form Student

Charity Week’s Annual Dinner

By Hove Park School • November 12, 2019
On Saturday, 9th November, Faizah & Anikah attended Charity Week’s Annual Dinner, representing Hove Park Sixth Form. The young ladies won an award at the evening in being recognized for their hard work successfully fundraising in their first year for the Charity Week organisation.
Equalities Day

Equalities Day

By Hove Park School • November 1, 2019
We had a host of fascinating and thought-provoking guest speakers, sessions and workshops throughout the day covering a wide range of equality topics. From equality in sport to breaking the stigma around mental health.
Legal and general building

Partnership with Legal & General

By Hove Park School • September 27, 2018
Hove Park is pleased to announce our community partnership with Legal & General, Hove. It means we will be working closely with Legal & General to give our pupils the chance to get involved with lots of activities connected to the world of work, sport, wellbeing, IT and the community. To start the partnership, pupils will be joining Legal and General volunteers for Children in Need where they will help on the night in the call centre. Other planned events include a Dragon’s Den-style project where L&G leaders will judge the best idea and we will also be getting the pupils involved in an annual Community Games event. Legal and General will also be sponsoring our annual Big Camp, Valley Challenge and Valley 5K events. As part of our new partnership, they have agreed to open their staff exercise sessions held in Hove Park on Thursday evenings to Hove Park staff. Karan Martin, Hove Location Director, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be going into a community partnership with Hove Park School. As part of our L&G in the Community initiative, I was keen to explore how we could give something back to a school in our area. We believe Hove Park is a great school and, being just down the road from our Hove site, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. We have lots of exciting activities planned which we hope will be really meaningful for pupils while giving them an insight into life after education through the interaction they gain with our colleagues.”
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