At Richmond Hill Academy we ensure SMSC and MBV are at the core of our curriculum and are central to everything we do. We provide children with the opportunity to not only flourish academically, but equally in their personal development. Our children feel inspired and have a sense of awe and wonder every single day. The pupils of Richmond Hill Academy understand that their voice matters and they have the power to change the world.
All aspects of SMSC are woven into our over- arching termly themes where the children are introduced to a Golden Question. This Golden Question is thought provoking and open ended, allowing children to refer back to it in any aspects of their learning. Through exploring the Golden Question, children learn about themselves, show empathy for others and make links with spirituality, morals, cultures and social aspects. All of their journey is displayed across the school and children add to the display when they feel they’ve evidenced the answering of the question in any aspects of their learning. Children can articulate what makes them feel powerful, what journey they have undertaken to believe in themselves and how they can show courage in their everyday lives.
Through our core values: courage, aspirations, respect and excellence, children have a clear understanding of right and wrong, have high expectations of themselves and show kindness in everything they do. Pupils consistently refer back to our values and Golden Rules to better themselves and others.
Our pupils are given countless opportunities for their voices to be heard, whether this is through the promotion of philosophical thinking (often seen in Forensic Reading, PSHE and SMSC), through our effective us of our Members of Pupil Parliament or through discussion time which often takes place after our meticulously planned shared reading books are read to the children that are tightly linked to SMSC. All children are actively encouraged to make their own choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.
Unity Days
Race, religions and beliefs, sexual orientation, disabilities, age, gender reassignment are all themes that drive our termly Unity Days.
Each year group spend two days off timetable exploring various stimuli (texts, quotes, videos, photography) linked to their given theme. They record their journey along the way into their own project booklet and create an outcome that will be shared with a particular audience, whether that be parents, the community or their peers. Every year group then has the chance to be resident experts in their particular theme and will then educate other year groups when it comes to them exploring that same topic.
Throughout the two days, the quality of the conversations heard in classrooms is truly breath-taking. Pupils learn to articulate their passion towards their theme, understand what it’s like to live in someone else’s shoes and feel empowered that they can be enough to shape someone else’s opinion.
Religions and Beliefs
At RHA there are 47 different spoken languages. We promote an interest in everyone’s beliefs and religions. We don’t just tolerate the diversity in our school, we celebrate it. Our youngest of children speak excitedly about the diversity within our school, community and wider world.
Age
We wanted to open our children’s eyes to understand a different generation. To understand all the different members of society and begin to explore the lives they live. We wanted our pupils to show empathy and love and understand that you can have the power to fill a hole in someone’s heart.
Race / Human Rights
It is vital our children are aware that not everyone has lived the same childhood. We wanted our children to understand why people have had to make the decisions they have made. Why having empathy for others is a quality we promote more than most. We want children to think about what they would do in if they were in a that situation and how they can support the people that are.
Disability
At Richmond Hill Academy we are incredibly fortunate to have Rainbow Base as part of our school. Despite having children from Rainbow base regularly mix with mainstream children, we wanted our children to be even more inclusive by giving them the opportunity to understand what it feels like to be a child with Autism.
Sexual Orientation
At RHA we pride ourselves on inclusivity. We wanted each child to understand that every family is different and that this is something to be celebrated. We wanted our children to feel confident with who they are as individuals and be able to celebrate the uniqueness of themselves, their friends and their families.
Race
At Richmond Hill Academy we represent 47 different languages and have staff and pupils who come from all over the world. We wanted our children to understand the challenges that people from different backgrounds face and decide for themselves how we can best challenge racism and discrimination in all its forms.
