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St Thomas' CE Primary School
St Clement & St James CE Primary School
St Thomas' Federation - Stronger together
School Gateway
Worship
Worship in our schools
Collective Worship promotes and supports achievement
and growth in five aspects of pupils’ religious learning. These are:
- A knowledge of Christianity; its stories, traditions, festivals, worship and teachings
- An understanding of Christian life and worship which may, if the pupil chooses, form the basis of an adult faith
- An awareness of life’s spiritual dimension
- A sense of Christian morality through our Christian values
- A knowledge and respect for the other major world faiths
Through the above, we aim to help children to:
- develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues within their own life experiences and those of others
- develop knowledge, understanding and respect for the range of religious and cultural practices found within: their own community; the local area; Britain and internationally
- develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition
- develop inquisitive minds that are willing to investigate, research, question and empathise to enable them to make reasoned judgements about religious issues.
The Theological Basis of Collective Worship
Our worship carries a flavour of the parish church and reflects wider Anglican traditions through the use of liturgical language, colours and seasonal worship songs.
Through use of the seasons of the Church’s year and our Christian Values the children experience a broad understanding of Christian beliefs and concepts allowing them to understand God as Father (harvest, creation, parenthood); God as Son (Christmas, Lent, Easter, parables and teachings); and God as Holy Spirit (Pentecost, the early Church, the lives of the saints).
The Bible is used to inform and direct our collective worship. Through careful planning, children are introduced to a range of stories from the New Testament and Old Testament. Age-appropriate Bibles are used to enrich stories and children often read aloud to the whole school.
Withdrawal from collective worship
While we are Church of England schools, we are committed to respecting individual beliefs. Upon entrance to the schools, parents/ carers are made aware of the Christian basis of our teaching. It is therefore unlikely that parents/ carers would wish to exercise their legal right of withdrawal. However, should such a case arise, the parents/ carers concerned should consult the Head of School.
We celebrate the cultural diversity of all members of our schools and have a cohesive community. Whilst collective worship will always reflect the Christian ethos of our schools, we respect and acknowledge the variety of religious observances which are represented in our schools and within the wider community. We acknowledge too, that there are those of no faith who chose to be part of our school community.