Collective Worship
Our Vision:
Collective worship is an important aspect of the life of our school. We want our children to have an equal opportunity to achieve success and reach their full potential, regardless of gender, race, culture or background; and to become independent learners within a Christian environment, which is safe, caring and happy. Worship offers the children and others in our school community an opportunity to reflect on values and issues in the context of our Christian ethos and shapes our approach to others and to what we do in school.
At Pennington C of E School we want our Collective Worship to be inspirational, invitational and inclusive and enable every child and adult to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10).
Legal Requirements:
Pupils will take part in an act of collective worship each school day unless a parent requests that a child be wholly or partly excused from attending religious worship. Collective worship will be mainly of a broadly Christian character, in accordance with the School’s Trust Deed 1874 which states that children should be instructed ‘according to the principles and doctrines of the Church of England.’
However, it is important that all people present (pupils, staff and visitors) feel valued whatever their faith or beliefs with no assumption of a shared religious commitment. Collective worship will acknowledge and respect the responses of all individual pupils and provide opportunities for them to express their feelings, delight at life, wonder, and joy regardless of faith.
Organisation
We hold a daily act of collective worship in our school. This may be in whole school assemblies or in individual class assemblies. Class assemblies may take place at any time during the school day, but whole school assemblies will normally commence at 2.45. and will last 20-25 minutes.
Collective worship can be led by the Head Teacher, other members of the staff, the children, visiting speakers or other members of the school community. On special occasions such as Christian festivals, collective worship may take place in the local church.
Monday – Whole school Collective Worship
Tuesday and Wednesday – Class Worship in classrooms, using Picture News, or other materials linked to our chosen half term’s Christian value or current/global events.
Thursday – Singing Worship or Class Led Worship
Friday –Celebration Worship
Prayers are also said before lunch and the end of the day. Each half term the children are invited to write a prayer around the Christian Value being explored. These are collected into class prayer books which can be used in class and whole school worship, but can also be used for other occasions e.g. at the start of governors meetings.
Prayer is a vital part of our worship. We see how spiritual growth is nurtured through prayer, stillness and reflection. It is introduced with a form of words that invites but does not coerce pupils to participate. Pupils who prefer not to pray are encouraged to use these times to meditate on the important messages shared in our worship.
Planning and Monitoring
We take the themes of our collective worship from the traditions of the Christian faith, reflecting festivals and events of the Christian calendar and the Christian values of the school. Sometimes the themes for class assemblies reflect and build on topics that we teach as part of the school curriculum.
The collective worship committee, consisting of children, will ensure the hall is prepared for whole school worship, will take photos and will ensure that reviews are completed by a variety of children from different age groups at regular intervals.
Class led worship will be planned regularly by children and will be delivered either to their peers or to other classes. The children will be given support in planning an act of collective worship and will use the planning grid to guide their planning.
All acts of collective worship will:
- be well planned
- include music / hymn
- include a Bible reading, story or reference
- provide time for reflection
- include a prayer/meditation time
Planning will be handed to the subject leader and will be collected together in a collective worship file. An example of a planning sheet is included.
Monitoring will be carried out by the subject leader and could include:-
- Photographs
- Pupil or staff interviews
- Comments from visitors or members of the school community
- Evaluation of planning
- Photographs and responses from the Christian value display board
Any monitoring will also be collated in the collective worship file.