Collective Worship Policy

Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22 verse 6

Cerne Abbas CE VC First School Collective Worship Policy

Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22 verse 6

Our vision is to be the best we can be.

We are committed to nurturing every child to thrive in a safe and engaging environment based on our Christian values of Peace, Trust, Friendship, Courage, Joy and Forgiveness. We strive to develop happy and confident learners ready to face the challenges of their next steps.

Organisation of Collective Worship.

The Staff and Governors of Cerne Abbas CE VC First School, in accordance with our Trust Deed and with the statutory requirements, place Collective Worship at the centre of the school’s daily life. It is a time when we come together to share Christian values and experiences of our everyday lives, to develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding of our pupils.

Worship is organised on a whole school basis and is led by different members of the teaching staff, a range of visiting church ministers, outside speakers and also the pupils in school. This enables us to provide an exciting and varied approach towards our collective worship and greatly enhances the schools Christian character.

The whole school attends Collective Worship in our local Church (St Mary’s) at least once each term to worship and to reinforce our Church foundation. We also celebrate the Anglican church festivals of Harvest, Christmas and Easter in church.

The Head Teacher (RE co-ordinator) produces a half term plan for collective worship, which include the themes to be developed for the half term as well as other practical elements such as the members of staff responsible for Collective Worship.

The Collective Worship Timetable is organised as follows:

Different groups of Year 4 children are responsible for preparing the hall for collective worship.

The Nature of Collective Worship at our School

Communal and Personal Reflection:

Collective Worship at our school is a time when staff and children meet together and have the opportunity to reflect on the non-material dimensions of our lives together in the school community and as individuals. It is not regarded simply as a time to exchange information or deal with organisational issues.

Praise and prayer:

We give children the opportunity to develop spiritually in the gathering together for Daily Worship to praise the awe and wonder of God and the beauty of the world God has created; to pray together, to learn about the teachings of both the old and New Testament with particular emphasis on the teachings of Jesus.

Life Application:

Children are given opportunity to consider what is important in our lives, about beliefs and values, and application of their beliefs to practical situations in their lives. They are taught to understand and respect the beliefs of other cultures and religions.

Celebration & Achievement:

Worship takes place through a variety of media such as Bible teaching, stories, songs, poetry, drama etc. Worship is often used as an opportunity to share experiences and achievements with the whole-school community and with parents and friends.

Family Community:

Through our Daily Worship we aim to bring an awareness of what it means to be part of a community, which cares for each other, for God and for the environment. In so doing we hope that pupils will develop the ability to explore issues for themselves, be able to reflect upon and learn from experiences and develop a sense of awe and wonder about the wider world whilst understanding their role and responsibilities to their local community.

Equal Opportunities:

Staff and Governors are committed to ensuring that opportunities for worship are relevant to all pupils and pay due regard to their ages, abilities and interests. We aim to recognise the equality of each child in God’s sight, whatever the child’s gender, race, physical or mental ability. Pupils currently take part in collective worship and often lead worship however each parent has the right to withdraw their child for religious reasons.

Special Education Needs:

Staff and Governors attempt to ensure that materials and subject matter used in collective worship are appropriate for the range of abilities of all pupils in school.

Planning:

Collective Worship planning is outlined on a Half Term Plan and includes several features:

• Biblical theme
• Anglican prayer
• Visitors from St Mary’s Church
• Visitors from other churches
• Charity visits from Heart Response
• Praise award celebration
• Termly visits to church where the vicar leads our Collective Worship
• End of term visit to St Mary’s Church to celebrate main Christian Festivals
• Pupil led prayer for the half term ahead and interactive pupil prayer display
• Pupil led praise / thankfulness
• We include our British Values in the rota of values.

We also use the ‘roots and Fruits’ resources to ensure that the children are aware of all Christian Values.

Monitoring and Evaluation.

Strategies staff currently use for assessing the outcomes of collective worship include:

• Worship Group (child led) evaluate and give staff feedback this includes observation of children’s reaction and participation during worship.
•  feedback from children in class - written or verbal through our two weekly worship group meetings.
•  parents' and visitors comments in our comment book
•  observation by Foundation Governors which includes interviewing the children to ensure that collective worship has impact
•  observations of the quality of worship through the Evaluation Days led by the Head Teacher and governors depending on the School Development Plan.
•  Questionnaires to parents and pupils.

Church / Prayer Walk

The Head leads a termly prayer walk attended by anyone interested in the spiritual life of the school. Staff contribute to general issues for prayer helps us to pray into specific areas of need relating to the pupils, staff, parents and governors.