Social Moral and Cultural Education
Subject Intent
We believe that every student should be able to reach their full potential.
Successful teaching and learning in SMC is built on positive relationships, commitment and enjoyment. Positive behaviour and self-discipline are encouraged. Students develop respect for themselves and those around them whilst working in a safe and supportive environment.
The SMC department consists of Mrs Turnbull (SMC Leader); Mr Atkinson (Headteacher); Mr McConway (Deputy Headteacher); Miss Knight (teacher); Miss Pickering (teacher); Mr Start (teacher); Mr Haque (teacher); Mrs Whittle (teacher); Mrs Nicholson (teacher); Mr Ord (teacher); Mr Billingsley (teacher); Mrs Robertson (teacher); Mrs Higgs (teacher); Mrs Hall (teacher) and Mrs Meredith (teacher).
We aim to challenge students academically and as individuals and to provide the necessary support for them to meet their full potential.
SMC teaching at Jarrow School aims and offers opportunities for students to:
- Broaden their horizons beyond their home town/area.
- Investigate issues that affect areas at local, national and international level.
- Investigate issues that affect themselves and others.
- Investigate world beliefs and attitudes.
Key Stage 3 SMC Overview
In Year 7, 8 & 9 we will study the following topics. Students will develop an understanding of each topic and will complete an assessment at the end of every unit. Some of the topics will build on what students have studied at Key Stage 2.
Year 7
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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Baseline test PSHE Introduction lessons 1. Secondary Introduction 2. PSHE Introduction PSHE – Living in the wider world (12 lessons) 1. Personal Development and Target Setting 2. Importance of Respect 3. Wants, Needs and Priorities 4-5. Self-esteem Through Life 6. Media Literacy 7. Pol Ed – What is Racism? 8. Stereotyping 9. Protected Characteristics 10. Careers Skills and Qualities 11. Budgeting our Money 12. Assessment |
PSHE – Living in the wider world continued PSHE - Health and wellbeing 1. What do we mean by a healthy lifestyle? 2. Mental Health Introduction 3. Building Resilience 4. Kindness and Empathy 5. Safer Internet 6. Pol Ed – What is vaping all about? 7-8. Drugs Introduction 9. Pol Ed – What is Addiction? 10. Personal Hygiene and Oral Health Infections 11. Boys Puberty 12. Periods and Menstruation 13. Gratefulness 14. Assessment |
PSHE Health and wellbeing continued... |
Religious Education - Denominations: Why did the Christian Church become diverse? (7 lessons) 1. The Trinity and Orthodox Christianity 2. Core beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses 3. The Pope and Protestantism 4. Predestination across all Denominations 5. Divergent Practices of the Quakers 6. The relationship between the Anglican and Methodist Church 7. Assessment |
PSHE – Relationship and sex education 1. Healthy Relationships 2. Importance of Trust 3. Pol Ed – Is this banter or bullying? 4. Pol Ed- What is child on child abuse? 5. Anti-bullying 6-7. Peer Pressure 8. Online Grooming 9-10. Different families, stability and commitment 11. Falling in love and romantic feelings 12. Marriage 13. Assessment |
Citizenship 1. Introduction to Citizenship 2. UK Government 3. Democracy 4. Electoral Systems |
Year 8
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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PSHE – Living in the wider world (11 lessons) 1. Attendance and punctuality 2. Ambitions, aspirations and realistic careers 3. Employability skills 4. Entrepreneurs 5. Saving and investing money 6. Teamwork 7. Sexism in society 8. Ableism, visible and invisible disabilities 9-10. County lines and gangs 11. Assessment |
Religious Education – Buddhism: how significant are the Three Jewels to Buddhists? 1. Siddhartha Gautama as a historical figure 2. The Buddha through the eyes of devotees. 3. Dhamma- skilful actions 4. Dhamma – Moral Precepts 5. Sangha – monks and nuns 6. Sangha – diverse lay Buddhist community 7. Assessment |
PSHE – Health and wellbeing 1. Balanced diet and healthy food 2. Importance of exercise 3. Lifestyle diseases and cancer 4. Eating disorders 5. Pol Ed – How does social media make me feel? 6-7. Group messaging and chats 8. Self-harm 9-10. Knife crime 11. Assessment |
Pol Ed (6 lessons) 1. Are we responsible with social media? 2. What is stop and search? 3. What are E rides? 4. What are red flags in relationships (friendship and romantic)? 5. What is money laundering? 6. What’s the law say about the possession of drugs? |
PSHE – Relationships and sex education 1. Tolerance and mutual respect 2. Being a great man 3. Gender equality 4. Gender stereotypes 5. Cyberbullying and online trolls 6-7. Consent, law and boundaries 8. Pol Ed – What are deep fakes? 9-10. Contraception 11-12. Introduction to STIs 13. Condoms and condom use 14. Assessment |
Religious Education – Suffering: Can Christian theology overcome the problem of evil? 1. God of classical theism 2. Inconsistent triad 3. The devil as the cause of evil 4. The free will defence 5. Job and suffering 6. Transcendence and immanence 7. Assessment Citizenship (5 lessons) 1. Monarchy and government 2. Community cohesion 3-4. Multiculturalism 5. Media influence |
* Highlighted in yellow are lessons you can request your child to be withdrawn from.
Year 9
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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PSHE – Health and wellbeing 1. Pol Ed – What is mental health stigma? 2. Managing anxiety 3-4. Happiness and positivity 5. Sleep importance and hygiene 6. Healthy eating on a budget 7. Health advice and services 8. Prescription drugs and antibiotics 9-10. First Aid and CPR 11. FGM 12. Gambling risks 13. Assessment |
Religious Education – Changing world: How should the Earth's resources be used? 1. Stewardship versus Dominion 2. Khalifah: Muslim perspectives on Earth 3. Tikkun Olam and the role of personal responsibility 4. Pope Francis and Laudato Si’encyclical 5. Peter Singer and animal rights 6. Mary Midgley and why animals matter 7. Assessment |
PSHE – Living in the wider world (16 lessons) 1. Importance of communities 2. The economy 3. Workplace skills 4. Enterprising qualities and personality work skills 5. Employability – applying and preparing 6. Self-discipline to achieve 7. Work skills – what can we learn from entrepreneurs 8. Our rights as consumers 9. How can I avoid debt 10. Navigating financial institutions 11. How does the law treat young offenders 12. How does knife crime impact on our lives 13. Human Rights abuses – genocide and trafficking 14. Human Rights – charity focus UNICEF 15. Sustainability for all 16. Assessment |
PSHE – Living in the wider world continued... |
PSHE – Relationships and sex education 1. British community, religion and culture 2. Immigration in the UK and diverse communities 3. Mental health and positive body image 4. Body image, media and eating disorders 5. How can we deal with peer pressure 6. Sexual harassment and the law 7.-8. Misogyny 9. Pol Ed – What is asphyxiation? 10. Domestic violence and abusive relationships 11. Pornography brains 12. How does child sexual exploitation happen 13. Who are the LGBT community? 14. Assessment |
Pol Ed (4 lessons) 1. What is CSE? 2. What is the issue with nudes? 3.What is CCE? 4. What is ASB? Citizenship (4 lessons) 1. Civil and criminal law 2-3. Refugees, immigration and asylum 4. Volunteering in the community |
* Highlighted in yellow are lessons you can request your child to be withdrawn from.
Key Stage 4 Overview
At Key Stage 4 we offer a GCSE in Religious Studies, following Eduqas Route A. A link to the specification can be found here.
However, for those students that choose not to opt for this will build upon work studied in previous years and go into more depth as students get older and more mature e.g. sex and sexual health. Those that choose to opt for the Religious Studies GCSE will study this alongside it.
Year 10
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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PSHE – Health and wellbeing (14 lessons) 1. Study skills 2. Screen time – how much is too much? 3. Social media and self esteem 4. Managing social media 5. Managing grief and bereavement 6. Why do people take their own lives? 7. Homelessness 8. Tattoos and piercings 9. How harmful is binge drinking? 10. Nitrous oxide 11.-12. Cancer and self-examinations 13. Hate crime 14. Assessment |
PSHE – Health and wellbeing continued... |
PSHE – Living in the wider world (9 lessons) 1. Rights and responsibilities in the workplace 2. The right career for me 3. What are employers looking for in CVs? 4. Preparing for work experience 5. Money laundering 6. Anti-social behaviour 7. Crime, gangs and county lines 8. Fake news and critical thinking 9. Assessment Finance – Your Money Matters Borrowing (3 lessons) Lesson 1- Borrowing and debt Repayment interest and APR Lesson 2 – Making informed decisions Borrowing products Lesson 3- Manageable and unmanageable debt |
PSHE – Living in the wider world continued... |
PSHE – Relationships and sex education 1. Forced and arranged marriages 2. Parenting 3. Adoption and fostering 4. Same sex relationships 5. Gaslighting and emotional abuse 6. Revenge porn 7. Deep fakes and malicious AI 8. Sexism and gender prejudice 9. Harassment and stalking 10 Assessment |
Pol Ed (3 lessons) 1. What is emotional abuse? 2. What is incel culture? 3. What is image based sexual abuse? |
* Highlighted in yellow are lessons you can request your child to be withdrawn from.
Year 11
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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Living in the wider world (9 lessons) 1. GCSE revision and study skills 2. How do we prepare for job interviews? 3. Independent living 4. Online privacy and data protection 5. Internet safety and the dark web 6. Cybercrime and online fraud 7-8. Extremism and radicalisation 9. Assessment Finance – Your Money Matters Planning (3 lessons) Lesson 1- Next steps – apprenticeships Next steps – employment Next steps – University Students finance Lesson 2 – Earnings Payslips Tax and National Insurance Self employed Lesson 3- Methods of payment How do we pay Income Tax? Pensions Help for people on low incomes |
Living in the wider world continued... |
Health and wellbeing (10 lessons) 1. Importance of sleep 2. Obesity and body positivity 3-4. Sugar and processed food 5. Neurodiversity 6. Fertility and reproductive health 7. First Aid and CPR 8. Why do we take risks? 9. Gambling and online gaming 10. Assessment |
Relationships and sex education 1. Happiness and positivity 2. Types of relationship 3. Online dating 4. Consent, rape and sexual abuse 5. Pol Ed – What are sexual offences? 6. Pol Ed – What is the impact of porn on relationships? 7. Parenting costs and consideration 8. Relationship break ups 9. Bullying and body shaming 10. Assessment |
Religious Education – Memory: What happens to us and our memories when we die? (5 lessons) 1. Views on the afterlife 2. Divergent funeral rites 3. Living on through works and memory 4. Digital memory 5. Assessment |
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* Highlighted in yellow are lessons you can request your child to be withdrawn from.
*Year 11 may be following revision programme
Religious Studies GCSE Eduqas Route A
Students will complete three exams at the end of Year 11.
Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World
Written examination: 2 hours
50% of qualification
Candidates will study the following four themes. All questions are compulsory.
Theme 1: Issues of Relationships
Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death
Theme 3: Issues of Good and Evil
Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights
This component will be assessed by compulsory questions focusing on knowledge, understanding and evaluation of the identified themes.
Component 2: Study of Christianity
Written examination: 1 hour
25% of qualification
Candidates will study the beliefs, teachings and practices of Christianity.
This component will be assessed by compulsory questions focussing on knowledge, understanding and evaluation of the subject content.
Component 3: Study of a World Faith
Written examination: 1 hour
25% of qualification
Candidates will study the beliefs, teachings and practices of Islam.
Year 10
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 1: Issues of Relationships |
Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 1: Issues of Relationships continued Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death |
Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death continued |
Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 3: Issues of Good and Evil
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Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 3: Issues of Good and Evil Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights |
Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights continued |
Year 11
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 | Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 | Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
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Component 2: Study of Christianity |
Component 2: |
Component 3: Study of a World Faith - Islam |
Component 3: Study of a World Faith - Islam continued |
Exam practice and revision |
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Additional Curriculum Information
Most Able
The SMC team will provide the environment and opportunities in order to challenge students and promote academic achievement. In addition to supporting any whole school initiative aimed at raising student achievement, the faculty will continue to employ thinking skills and develop exam techniques.
More able students are given a range of opportunities to reach their full potential through challenging activities. Skills may include learning extensive vocabulary, statistical manipulation, high-order graphical interpretation and discussing explanations. Students express opinions and consider the wide range of viewpoints and reasons behind them. By studying a wide range of relevant topics, breadth and depth of knowledge are enhanced.
Students are given opportunities to analyse and synthesise information as well as review the validity of resources. In SMC, open-ended research allows pupils to select, organise and deploy a wide range of relevant information. By understanding their own learning, students are given the opportunity to build on their strengths and apply knowledge/understanding.
SEND
The SMC Department will seek to provide all students with access to SMC topics at a level which is relevant to their individual needs. By identifying the needs of the individuals, it is possible to tailor activities, provide special support and appropriate learning.
Teachers of SMC will liaise with appropriate staff (SENCO, learning mentors, HOY, classroom support assistants) in order to provide the best support for individuals; provide adapted work according to ability and need; provide writing scaffolds and access to intervention sessions.
Assessment – Impact
Students will complete end of unit assessments at both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.. At the end of RE topics, students will complete an assessment. These tests will be marked and a class average will be ascertained and shared with students. Students will be told what they did well in their assessment; what they could do better and will be given a progress question to complete. Students will also give feedback about which lesson/lessons they liked/disliked and will be able to comment about how their teacher could improve their learning. Student data will then be shared with parents/carers when there is a reporting period.
Homework
Students will be given homework during some topics. This could take the form of research, presentations etc. Students will be given an overview of the topics that will be included in each assessment and will be expected to revise these in preparation for their end of unit test.
Beyond the curriculum
We have organised various out of school trips over the past few years – we have been to Auschwitz-Birkenau, completed visits to a Bradford Mosque and Gurdwara and recently visited St Paul’s Church, Jarrow (May 2026). We promote career links during various topics that we study, especially during careers lessons; planning for the future and business and enterprise. We hope to organise more meaningful encounters in the future.
Literacy & Subject Specific Vocabulary
Students are encouraged to read in class. In some classrooms subject specific word walls are on display and updated regularly to fit into the topics that we are studying.
Unit 2: 20th Century Depth Studies
Section A The Roaring 20s: USA 1919-1929
Section B Depression and the New Deal: The USA, 1929-1941
Section C War in Vietnam, 1964-1975
