Moral Development

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, LEIGH

POLICY FOR MORAL DEVELOPMENT

This policy outlines the purpose, nature and management of Moral Development at Sacred Heart. The school’s mission statement clearly reflects the importance of Moral Development.

Live and learn with Jesus.

We follow Jesus through; love, fairness, happiness, kindness and friendship.

The children will have the opportunity to further explore our Mission Statement through work throughout the school year and during Mission Statement week each September. In order to support their Moral Development, they explore how they can follow Jesus through the values of love, fairness, happiness, kindness and friendship.

Whilst the responsibility for promoting moral development within the school lies with the Head Teacher and the Senior Management Team, everybody who interacts with pupils in any capacity needs to be fully involved in its promotion within the school community, the home, the parish and the wider world to ensure that we follow the Pope’s message to care for our common home and enable the pupils to understand the impact of the commandment that Jesus gave us:

‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

To do this they must learn to understand the difference between right and wrong and the importance of striving to do the just and right thing as they follow Jesus’ example and teaching.

We want this understanding to:

inform pupils’ thinking and actions
help them exercise their will in resisting temptation;
prompt the constant attempt to become a better person;
increase their willingness to make an effort to understand and consider others;
build pupils’ respect for themselves, others, their society and their environment;
enable pupils to engage in effective moral reasoning;
help pupil see that weakness, failure and fault belong to the human condition, but we should try to acknowledge our failings, overcome them and make up for them as best we can.

We will promote moral development by encouraging pupils to:

reflect on moral rules, shared values and their importance for good relationships and social stability, on the qualities of a good human being and on the complexity of moral issues;
analyse the consequences of their actions, both good and bad, in terms of their own conscience (their moral reasoning and judgment), social reward and consequences;
acquire and develop the qualities and attitudes that will enable them to become better human beings, to develop their feeling for others and to exercise the self-discipline that will enable them to fulfil their potential;
exercise moral reasoning in making real choices in how they should act as they strive to follow the example of Jesus;
exercise judgement in right and wrong, examining their own actions and those of others for what they might learn;
learn to reconcile themselves with others;
discuss and debate ideas of right and wrong in relation to current issues.

We believe there are opportunities to develop moral awareness in every subject in the school curriculum, even though some offer richer opportunities than others for developing pupils growing awareness of moral questions and moral choices.

Planning

Aspects of Moral Development planning will be found in:

Come and See Planning
Collective Worship Planning
Planned Circle Time or PSHE activities (SCARF)
Foundation Stage Planning
Pastoral Team support and interventions

Teaching and Learning

This will be done through focussed lessons: Religious Education, PSHE, Collective Worship and in other Subject Areas. It will also be demonstrated to the children by staff who lead by example; through their actions and interactions with each other and with their pupils as they treat everyone as Jesus taught us to do. All staff in school are expected to have high expectations of children and support them in achieving these.

Moral Development will also be promoted through –

The School Curriculum – For example:

Religious Education – the Come and See Programme

Geography – other countries/ People.

Drama – explore moral issues in a non-threatening way.

English – stories than contain conflicting views and raise issues, Reading Partners.

The Broader Curriculum – extra-curricular activities at lunch times and after school, residential experience and community service including:

Sports- we encourage peers to support each other and cheer at sporting events.

Mini Vinnies- helping the wider community

Liturgical Prayer groups

Supporting charities such as CAFOD, Foodbanks, Good Shepherd, etc

Visitors- a range of visitors come into school to share their work and life experiences. Such as- police officers, fire brigade, parishioners, Mayor, etc.

School and Eco council

Year 6 jobs and responsibilities- table pals, playtime buddies, buddies of Reception

The School Context – school structures, systems, processes and rules:

including Mixed Ability Groups – helping each other.

Circle times and discussions on issues as they arise in class, home, playground – why was that wrong, how would you feel, what should you do?

Rules that are worded positively

Rewards- Dojo, Star of the Week

Playleaders to promote and lead happy playtimes

Visual timetables in classrooms

Routines in classes

Promoting respect always

Disciple is fair and can be seen in our Behaviour Policy

Golden Time

As and when issues arise in the classroom, either as a result of something that has happened in class or in the world around them.

Evaluating Progress

A model of formal assessment is clearly inappropriate in this area. However, pupils show progress, appropriate to their age and ability, if they display an awareness of how to live out their school mission as they ‘live and learn with Jesus’ and follow his example through love, fairness, happiness, kindness and friendship. This will include displaying:

personal values in relation to self-awareness; self-confidence; self-esteem; self-control;

self-reliance; self-respect; self-discipline; responsibility.

relationship with others with reference with such qualities as: tolerance; respect for people and their property; truthfulness; compassion; co-operation; sensitivity; love.
knowledge of the language and ideas of morality and, increasingly, how these differ from e.g. legal or political usage, or from other kinds of statement (logical or factual, for example);
understanding the nature and purpose of moral discussion, with desire to persuade, combined with respect for, and listening to others viewpoints;
respect for the earth, our common home and the whole of creation.

Differentiation and S.E.N.

All pupils to be encourage in their moral development by given opportunities to respond at their own level.

Children will be actively encouraged to think about how Jesus taught us to behave and to know what is right and wrong and to understand the difference between the two at their own level.

Adapted: Spring Term 2024

Review Spring Term 2027

By T. Nice