SMSC / PSHE

At Thornaby Academy we are committed to giving every student the opportunity to achieve their full potential to become confident, self-assured learners ready to make valuable contributions to our community.

As part of our values-led approach we actively promote the values of:

• democracy
• the rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs and those without faith as part of our work to promote equalities, believing that a lived understanding of these and other values will contribute to all our students’ success in life now and in the future.
• PREVENT agenda

Students encounter these principles throughout everyday school life. SMSC including British Values are consciously developed through the culture and ethos of PRIDE at Thornaby Academy, through the content of our curriculum where understanding of values are explored in wide ranging ways and this is mapped across the whole school. We believe that education can inspire and develop positive attitudes to others in our school and community. Listed below are just some brief examples of how we promote these values in our school, aside from the visual displays in place around the school.

Democracy

At the heart of our school is the key ambition that all students are leaders. They work closely with other students, staff, parents and the community on all aspects of school life. They have a real say in the development and future of our school, via the active body of the student council. This was the key process used to establish our core PRIDE values. These students work alongside staff on all aspects of school development linked to the PRIDE ethos, seeking to represent the views of all students and to encourage an ethos of PRIDE. Students have a great amount of input in regards to what helps them learn. Students are also involved in democracy outside of school. Students also take part in UK Youth Parliament Elections. In 2018/19, one of our students was a candidate in the elections for Stockton Borough Council. Students also demonstrate democracy in voting for the topics they wish to be covered in Respect Days.

The Rule of Law

Our students will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire lives. Our students have a very big say in the rules that our school needs. Students were involved in creating their own set of rules which run alongside our PRIDE values, they have also a code of conduct to be adhered to during social times. This has given them a much better understanding of why rules are needed and the consequences for everybody, if these are broken, including issues such as anti-social behaviour and hate crime.  We have clear expectations in terms of e-safety and promote safe learning online through the R.S.V.P. project, LEEP and Computing curriculum.  The PSHE curriculum gives opportunities for students to fully understand the differences between “right” and “wrong” and how views may differ but all people living in England are subject to its law. We also seek opportunities to involve outside agencies and speakers, such as the PCSO and BESAFE to engage our students in discussions about their responsibilities to uphold the law.

Individual Liberty

We invest a great deal of time in creating a positive culture in our school so that students are in a safe environment where choices and freedoms are encouraged. Enrichment Week also gives students the chance to try something different and work with a range of staff and students for a week. Enrichment Week offers a large choice of activities to choose from and inbuilt into the week is also the opportunity to evaluate the activities. Through our PSHCE program and humanities we educate students on their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms as well as supporting them in recognising how to exercise these freedoms safely. Through our tutor time work, we encourage students to develop debate skills and engagement with current affairs to ensure they are equipped with the skills to articulate their views sensitively and listen to others with respect. The school also has a LGBTQ support group.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Mutual respect is at the core of our school life. Respect forms one of the key qualities as highlighted by our PRIDE values. We learn to treat each other and staff with great respect. This is evident when walking around the school. Students learn about a range of issues across LEEP and R.E.  lessons, tutorial programme and assemblies. We actively promote respect for others through the praise and consequences systems embedded into teaching and learning along with the rewards processes in school. Our Anti-bullying policies, assemblies, RESPECT days and curriculum teaches students about respecting individuals' beliefs and their rights to hold them along with highlighting the importance of identifying and combating discrimination. We have engaged in ‘Diversity Week’, ‘Global Learning Programme Week’ and ‘Relationships Week’ to explore what the the values of tolerance and respect look like in practice.

PREVENT agenda

At Thornaby Academy we ensure that through our school vision, values, rules, diverse curriculum and teaching we promote tolerance and respect for all cultures, faiths and lifestyles. The trust also ensures that this ethos is reflected and implemented effectively in school policy and practice and that there are effective risk assessments in place to safeguard and promote students’ welfare. We are committed to ensuring that our pupils are offered a broad and balanced curriculum that aims to prepare them for life in modern Britain. We encourage our pupils to be inquisitive learners who are open to new experiences and are tolerant of others. We cover a range of PREVENT agenda issues throughout or LEEP/PSHE curriculum and our RESPECT days. The internet provides children and young people with access to a wide-range of content, some of which is harmful. Extremists use the internet, including social media, to share their messages. The filtering systems used in our school blocks inappropriate content, including extremist content. We have also run several projects in tutor time to explore themes of hate crime, terrorism and media bias. In LEEP we have included a unit to explore conflict resolution.

PHSE at Thornaby Academy

At Thornaby Academy, PHSE and its effective delivery is extremely important to us. PHSE is delivered through the Personal Development curriculum. Please click here for more information.