Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development at Hilden Oaks

In June 2019, Hilden Oaks was awarded a prestigious ‘Gold SMSC Quality Mark’ by the Citizen Foundation, one of only a handful, nationwide.  Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural (SMSC) development is at the heart of our excellent school and is evident across the whole curriculum. 

In the assessment report, the verifier remarked

“It is clear that SMSC is valued in every aspect of school life and it sits so organically within the Hilden Oak’s aims and values. The fact that the children are not only well versed on the school’s values and understand their importance, but also ‘value’ them, is a real credit to the school.”

Diversity

The report commented further that all the children she met at Hilden Oaks “spoke with such maturity, confidence and honesty.” When asked to describe their school in one word the pupils replied; ‘wonderful, kind, mindful, outstanding, amazing, fantastic, loyal, excellent, phenomenal and thoughtful’. They also spoke about the ‘family feeling’, their ‘enjoyment of learning’, and their ‘willingness to try new things because the school gives them the confidence.’

In addition, “There is positive and strong parental support. Parents could not have spoken more highly of the school. They shared a range of stories - highlighting how the school demonstrates so many aspects of SMSC provision every day and how the pupils take their experiences home to share.”

Tolerance

Headmistress, Mrs Katy Joiner said

“We are delighted to have received this award, which recognises the care Hilden Oaks has for the whole school community.  It links very closely with our values-based education, and helps the children work towards making a positive difference to society.  As a result, their academic achievements are also excellent.”  

SMSC development is also a key area assessed by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and Ofsted, who require schools “to think about the kind of people we aspire to be, the kind of world we aspire to create, and the kind of education we aspire to provide”

Consideration