Collective Worship
Collective Worship gives pupils and school staff the opportunity to:
- Engage in an act of community
- Express praise and thanksgiving to God
- Be still and reflect
- Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events
- Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness
- Reflect on the character of God and on the teachings of Christ through Biblical texts
- Affirm Christian values and attitudes
- Share each other’s joys and challenges
- Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar
It is a school expectation that all teachers lead worship and worship in the classroom following our school guidelines.
The Anglican Christian Tradition
The following are shared as Christian elements of collective worship:
- Exploring the Christian understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- Using the Bible for inspiration, stories and guidance
- Observing the cycle of the Church’s Year – Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Saints Days amongst ordinary days
- Learning and saying prayers from a number of sources, in particular the Lord’s Prayer and the blessings in common use
- Singing a wide variety of hymns and songs from traditional to modern
- Experiencing Christian symbols in worship and reflecting on their meaning
- The use of prayer, silence and reflection
- Using Psalms with simple responses – Taizé style
Implementation
This act of worship can take place at any time of the school day and in any regular school grouping e.g. whole school, key stage or class. Our school plans systematically and cohesively using Canterbury Diocesan Collective Worship Planning which is adapted and changed to meet the needs of our community
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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EYFS – Classrooms |
Jack in the box Worship led by class teachers |
Class worship following whole school plans. |
Jack in the box Worship led by class teachers |
Singing and praise led by class teachers |
Year group celebration worship |
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Key Stage 1 – Small hall |
2.45pm Whole School worship led by the Head or Deputy in the large hall. |
2.45pm Whole school singing worship
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Class worship – led by teacher |
2.45pm Key stage worship led by teachers.
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2.45pm Celebration worship led by teachers/ethos team |
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Lower Key Stage 2 - Large hall |
2.50pm Key stage worship led by teachers.
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Class worship – led by teacher/children |
2.50pm Celebration worship led by teachers and Year 6. |
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Key Stage 2 – Large hall |
Class worship – led by teacher/children |
2.50pm Key stage worship led by teachers. |
*As the year progresses the EYFS children join with Key Stage and whole school worship session starting in Term 2 where they join Key Stage 1 for celebration worship.
During our worship sessions, we use windows, mirrors and doors to give the children the chance to explore our school values, life values and world issues. This gives the children a chance to reflect upon issues personally, as a class and future a field whether in school or a wider issue.
We are mindful of the variation in personal spiritual styles, such as word, symbol, action and emotion, and staff have been given training to ensure that each worship provides a range of creative opportunities including, music, use of video clips, reflection time (in silence), symbols, verses/motivational texts, acting out.
Our worship consists of 4 stages:
- Gather – we welcome the community, for example, (with music, liturgy and the lighting of a candle)
- Engage – we share, for example, (a Bible reading, followed by an activity to engage pupils with the Christian message)
- Respond – pupils, for example, (discuss, share, reflect, pray or sing)
- Send – we share, for example, (the message of the worship again and ask pupils to think about how they will affect their day / learning/ behaviour. We close with liturgy, final prayer, music and the blowing out of our special candle)
SIAMS report
siams report vc reculver 191424263.pdf
