Collective Worship

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ - Matthew 5:16

At Christ Church, we are committed to delivering on our promise that pupils and stakeholders are empowered to be Successful, Happy, Included, Nurtured and Enriched (SHINE). As a Church School we care deeply about each individual member of the Christ Church family, celebrating diversity, being mindfully inclusive and ensuring equality of opportunity.

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst into in songs of thanksgiving - Psalm 28:7

Collective Worship is the unique heartbeat of our school and is offered daily as part of a wider opportunity for pupils and adults to encounter faith by engaging in conversations about God, both as individuals and together.

Through our yearly timetable of collective worship, we aim to provide worship that is inclusive, invitational and inspiring and we share the aims and objectives of the Church of England Education Office through our worship to:

Explore our school’s vision and how that underpins shared values and virtues. In doing so, it reflects upon moral values such as compassion, gratitude, justice, humility, forgiveness and reconciliation; and develops virtues such as resilience, determination and creativity that develop character and contribute to academic progress.
Help pupils and adults to appreciate the relevance of faith in today’s world by encountering the teachings of Jesus and the Bible and developing understanding of the Christian belief in the trinitarian nature of God.
Offer the opportunity, without compulsion, to all pupils and adults to grow spiritually through experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection.
Enable all pupils and adults to appreciate that Christians worship in different ways, for example using music, silence, story, prayer, reflection, as well as through the varied liturgical and other traditions of Anglican worship, festivals and, where appropriate, the Eucharist.
Enable pupils to develop skills through engaging in the planning, leading and evaluation of collective worship in ways that lead to improving practice.

Collective worship at Christ Church 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.
Affirm Christian values and attitudes.
Share each other's joys and challenges.
Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar.

Our cycle of worship includes a half termly focus upon a SHINE value which links to the Christian and shared values explored in the Roots and Fruits schemes of work. Key seasons of the Church year are mapped out as are celebrations, festivals, and key events that reflect the diverse local community. We have a half termly focus upon a Character Education skill that is developed throughout the curriculum. Our worship sessions follow the liturgical structure of gathering, engaging, responding and sending out.

Our worship timetable follows the pattern below:

Pupils take varying roles in leading collective worship throughout school. These include roles before worship including setting up, welcoming and planning, roles during worship including facilitating, gathering, engaging, responding and sending and roles after worship including clearing up, recording and evaluating worship. Alongside this, each phase is responsible for planning and leading a whole school worship session to celebrate festivals such as Harvest, Remembrance, Advent, Christmas, Candlemas, Mothering Sunday and Easter. Individual classes plan and deliver a thematic based worship session once per year.

Members of the Senior leadership team and the Collective Worship Leader, attend regular training sessions provided by Birmingham Diocese and seek further reading to develop their knowledge and understanding. Staff meetings are held regularly to share key updates, to share good practice and to reflect upon the effectiveness of collective worship.

Collective worship is monitored by a member of the senior leadership team and the Collective Worship Lead. This has taken place alongside Governors and members of Diocese. Pupils regularly evaluate collective worship and the Collective Worship Council help plan, support and implement changes.

We work together with the Reverend Arif Anees and welcome him regularly to our worship sessions. We are currently building relationships with members of the local community with the hope of including the community further in our worship sessions.

As a school, we are continually developing worship throughout the day, inside and out as well as planning opportunities for worship and spiritual nourishment throughout the curriculum.

Prayer

As well as the daily act of Collective Worship, we are developing the opportunities we provide during the school day and throughout school life to ensure worship is inclusive, inviting and inspiring. Our aim is to provide worship throughout the day, inside and outside. In addition to The Lord’s Prayer, our lunchtime prayer and school prayer, some of the ways we pray include: a prayer at the start of the day, spontaneous prayer, using pop up prayer spaces, prayer during meetings and prayer throughout the curriculum e.g. during reflection time, to appreciate WOW moments and to appreciate the strength and skill of ourselves and others. We use the environment and well-worn paths to take the opportunity to pray in a range of spaces including the hall, classrooms, prayer spaces, our outdoor Prayer Hut and make use of our vast green space, appreciating God’s beauty. The school entrance and corridors have beautiful artwork and artefacts to welcome visitors and to inspire. One of the ways we have used a well-worn path recently is through an Easter pilgrimage of the Stations of the Cross. Members of the local community were invited to live out the journey. We are proud to say that our school prayer was written by our pupils to embody our SHINE values.

Father,

Thank you for keeping our school peaceful and safe.

Lord help us to be happy, healthy and successful.

Lord help us to be kind and good.

Lord help us to feel included, nurtured and enriched.

Lord help us to make friends and love each other.

Please show us how to spend each day sharing your love in every way.

We give thanks and praise for our wonderful school.

Through Jesus' name.

Amen

Spirituality

Spirituality is primarily about relationships. It is about understanding the internal relationship with ourselves, and external relationships with one other and from a Christian perspective with God.” Spiritual Development: Interpretations of Spiritual Development in the Classroom (Church of England, 2019)

At Christ Church, spiritual development is promoted through:
exploring their relationship with God and the sense that they are his children, unique and loved by him;
exploring and experiencing prayer and worship from a variety of Christian and multi-faith traditions;
giving thanks to God for all aspects of school life;
discussing and reflecting upon ‘Big Questions’
opportunities to discuss feelings and emotions openly;
recognising and encouraging the use of personal and group gifts and talents
opportunities to develop their gift of imagination and creativity;
encouraging curiosity and questioning so that their own views and ideas on religious and spiritual issues can be developed within a secure environment where faith is valued;
developing a sense of personal significance and belonging

Spirituality enables our children to shine; to be happy and successful and to live life in all its fullness. Children are provided with opportunities to develop the four elements of spirituality during worship, across the curriculum and during specific targeted sessions. The elements are self, others, world and beyond.

Anthem

During the year 2021, in collaboration with Revival Fires in Dudley, the children created their very own Christ Church anthem. Listen to it here: Christ Church Final Anthem

Parental Right of Withdrawal from Collective Worship

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from collective worship. If a parent wishes to consider this option, please contact the school office and arrange a time to discuss this with the Head Teacher.

Roots and Fruits

Collective worship policy