Collective Worship
Our collective worship strengthens and supports the Christian identity of our school, reaffirms our values and celebrates the contribution that each child makes to our community. Worship reflects the variety of traditions found in the Church of England, and will recognise and follow the Christian liturgical year. The daily Christian act of worship is central to our ethos and provides pupils and staff time, separate and distinct from the rest of the school day, in which to reflect, develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and further develop their spirituality.
The protocol document below gives more detailed information on Collective Worship in our school. Please also see the Spirituality at St. Peter’s and St. Peter’s Faith Journey pages for more information.
Our school worship is central to the life of the school and contributes to the spiritual (more information on spirituality can be found on our website), moral, social and cultural development of our pupils, as appropriate to their ages and aptitudes.
We want our children to:
• Explore a relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
• Consider spiritual and moral issues and, through reflection, raise awareness of the ultimate questions of life relating to matters of faith.
• Reflect on their own beliefs and develop a respect for and an understanding of different beliefs.
• Develop an enquiring mind and express and explore their own views openly and honestly through reflection and wondering questions.
• Foster an awareness of the world around them and a sense of their place within it
• Develop a sense of sharing and belonging through different groups of children coming together.
• Have opportunities to live out and explore Biblical teachings.
Organisation:
School worship takes place daily.
• A call to worship is played.
• It is all inclusive – it is for all pupils and staff. Worship is invitational in it’s nature – pupils can participate in as much or as little as they want.
• All staff attend daily worship.
• Takes place either in the school hall, classrooms, Forest church, outdoor reflection areas or at St. Peter’s Church, Elwick for worship which is organised by Rev’d Janet.
• Includes songs and hymns.
• Allows members of the school community to have opportunities to reflect, responding individually or collectively to a statement of belief, prayer, silence or reflection.
• Celebrates the achievements and learning of all pupils.
• Follows the ‘Roots and Fruits’ collective worship throughout the two year cycle.
Through Roots and Fruits, we aim to give children a range of experiences to develop their own spirituality and refine what it means for them. The lenses through which we view spirituality is something we learn about (windows), something that resides within us (mirrors), on which we can answer a call to action (doors)
Windows, Mirrors and Doors are taken from the work of Liz Mills (1997) and provide a useful way of articulating spirituality to all stakeholders in the school, including pupils.
Windows: Are for ‘looking out onto the world and becoming aware of its wonders.’ Our curriculum and worship offer us opportunities to identify the wonders in the world – both human and natural – and those aspects that make us uncomfortable.
Mirrors: Are for ‘looking into and reflecting, alone and together, to see things more clearly, for thinking and asking important questions learning from our own and each other’s responses.
In addition to opportunities to reflect as part of our worship, we also ensure pupils have the opportunity to reflect through ‘stillness’ in EYFS and guided meditation sessions in KS2 (e.g. Lectio Divina sessions let by Rev Janet) . Pop UP Prayer Spaces led by our BIGFISH group support whole families to reflect and Classroom Reflection Areas enable reflection opportunities to be bespoke to individual classes.
Doors: Are for ‘looking through in order to then act or express this in some way in response; for moving on, making choices and doing something creative, active and purposeful in response.
Timetable of Collective Worship:
| Day | Worship |
| Monday- Whole school worship | Teacher led |
| Tuesday- Whole school worship | Rev’d Janet |
| Wednesday- Class worship | Class worship |
| Thursday- Pupil Voice worship | Student led |
| Friday- Whole school worship including celebration. | SMT/Teacher led |
