At Forty Hill, the children are encouraged to: explore beliefs and experiences; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about themselves, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect on their learning and experiences. They do this in a number of ways, including through our curriculum, learning opportunities in the outside environment, school trips, Church services and daily Acts of Worship and singing. Our Creative Curriculum gives children opportunities to experience spirituality through the creative arts as well as many opportunities for unplanned spirituality within the school day.

As part of our Collective Worship Programme, the school attends Jesus Church throughout the year to participate in and lead festival services. The aim is for all of our children from Year 1 – Year 6 to lead prayers in church at different times of the year.

Understanding morals and morality is an important aspect of our curriculum, in order for us to prepare our children from life in the 21st Century. Our children are taught to: recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views. Through our Vision and Values, as well as our Philosophy for Children (P4C) and PSHE sessions, we encourage healthy debate and discussion around ethical issues and why we have rules. Pupil voice is key to allowing the children to explore these issues and Focus days, weeks, enrichment sessions and acts of worship look at moral issues including: bullying; gender roles and stereotypes; the role of the media and newspapers.

As part of their social understanding, we teach the children to: use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the ‘British Values’ of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance (see above). At Forty Hill, this can be seen through the responsibilities of our older children, including House Captains, our active School Council and pupil voice throughout the school. As a small school, we collaborate and come together on many things – including school productions – with every child participating in a production every year. We are also proud to be a ‘Singing School’ with our school choir contributing to the wide repertoire of music, both Christian and secular, heard throughout the school on many occasions.

At Forty Hill we are proud to have a ‘Reaching Out’ Programme, where we teach children about the importance of supporting others in the wider community in order to enable the children to become responsible citizens, caring about the world that they live in. Each year group participates in at least one activity every year to support the wider community and to develop their awareness of different causes.

As a multicultural school, we focus a great deal on the different cultures, upbringings and beliefs of our families and individuals. We encourage our children to: appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s Parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity in a number of ways. These include our celebration assemblies, focus weeks, church services, visits from different outside speakers including other religious leaders, learning from and about other cultures and storytellers from different cultures. Our rich curriculum gives children opportunities in a number of areas, including Music, Art, Public Speaking and Drama.