Curriculum and Pastoral Overview

SMSC and British Values

Our Vision

At QEHS we aim to offer an outstanding education and to be the destination of choice for academic excellence. This is achieved by providing an environment in which students are academically challenged, well cared for, and are offered a broad range of fulfilling and enriching co-curricular activities.

Our school vision therefore seeks to ensure all of our students are empowered as future global citizens, equipped for the modern world with skills, knowledge, experiences, and qualifications. In doing so, this exemplifies our holistic approach to education and reflects the importance QEHS places on the development of SMSC, including the promotion of British Values.

We recognise that the development of SMSC and British Values not only plays a crucial role in each student’s capacity to learn and achieve, but also in their ability to understand and appreciate the world they live in. As such, we ensure that our curriculum extends beyond the academic to best support the students’ personal development and to effectively prepare them for life beyond school. 

SMSC and British Values – Curriculum and Pastoral Overview

We carefully map the delivery of SMSC and British Values across both the full academic and the pastoral provision offered here at QEHS.

To view the QEHS SMSC and British Values Curriculum Overview, please click here.

To view the QEHS SMSC and British Values Pastoral Overview, please click here. 

SMSC and British Values in the Wider Curriculum

At QEHS we value the contribution of extra-curricular activities in students’ personal development and recognise the important role this plays in their SMSC education.  All students have the opportunity to extend their learning through a range of enrichment opportunities:

Student leadership (Leadership for Learning) 

Our students are encouraged to take an active role in the life of the school. We have extensive opportunities for students to take up leadership roles across the school such as House Captains, Subject Ambassadors, School Council, Sport Leaders, and Form Reps. Student Leadership is at the heart of our QEHS Learner Standard - Leadership for Learning.

Extra-curricular club programme

We have a comprehensive extra-curricular programme that enables students to continue their learning outside of the classroom and develop their interests and talents. Click here to view the Personal Development page. 

Trips and Visits

Our offsite trips and visits programme is planned for the year to provide a range of opportunities for students to link their learning in the classroom to the world beyond school. Each curriculum area selects a range of trips to develop students’ subject specific knowledge and understanding. Importantly, we also include trips which are not directly linked to a particular subject but are instead focused on developing students’ cultural capital and understanding of real life; this includes for example, an annual ski trip, residential trips to experience outdoor and adventurous activities, fieldwork and Camps International and community projects..

Community links

We encourage our students to take an active role in their community through a wide range of links and opportunities. Including but limited to:

• Young Heritage Champions who work in collaboration with Gainsborough Townscape Heritage, to offer ideas and get involved with the town’s development projects.
• Hosting of primary school events including physical education and sport, performing arts, maths and science.
• Hosting of the STEM fair, which involves a number of members of the local community.
• We open our doors to the local community to use our facilities.

Our Commitment to SMSC and British Values Development

All staff have received SMSC and British Values training from Young Citizens (17 April 2023), to further develop their understanding and expertise, to allow opportunity for reflection upon current practice, and to plan for the future development of SMSC and British Values at QEHS.