The Church of England Vision for Education ‘Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’ states: We want pupils to leave school with a rich experience and understanding of Christianity, and we are committed to offering them an encounter with Jesus Christ and with Christian faith and practice in a way that enhances their lives...Collective worship in schools, including prayer, reading and reflecting on the Bible, liturgy, sacrament and experience of the musical and other imaginative riches of Christianity, provide a vital opportunity for this. (p.10).
At St Peter’s, collective worship is seen as the unique heartbeat of the school and is offered as part of a wider opportunity for pupils and adults to encounter faith by engaging in conversations about God, both as individuals and together. Worship is central to realising our vision: ‘Like St Peter, we build upon the rock of Jesus to enable us to shine: achieving our God given potential, and loving ourselves, others, the world and God.’
Worship is a time where we come together to learn about the ‘firm foundations’ and to celebrate by ‘shining bright’.
The worship of the school is based on promoting the PETERS values;
These permeate the ethos of the school. As such, Worship is an essential part of the school day and the contributions of staff, pupils, clergy and other visitors are valued highly.
Weekly programme for Collective Worship
Collective worship usually takes place at the end of the school day. The following on-going daily pattern is usually followed;
MONDAY 3:00pm Whole school worship (Clergy Team)
TUESDAY 3:00pm Come and Praise (Music Lead/SLT)
WEDNESDAY 3:00pm Class worship (Class Teacher) or 3:00pm Worship (led by a class)
THURSDAY 3:00pm Whole school worship (Headteacher)
FRIDAY 2:45pm Celebration Assembly (SLT Headteacher)
Our collective worship schedule follows a hybrid approach, linking the Big Start Assemblies, our own PETERS values and key calendar dates across the year. Our Monday collective worship follows the Big Start long, medium and short term planning, and our class worship links to the themes of our Big Start worship. Class worship focuses on how we can live out our themes and values in our daily lives, both in and out of school. Our Thursday worship links to the PETERS value for the half term, as well as planned-in key dates in the calendar, such as Black History Month, World Oceans Day and the International Day of Peace.
At the end of each term, the dates are organised for the weekly themes for the following term. The first collective worship and first afternoon of each half term are focussed on one of our PETERS values. This is a key aspect of the Christian distinctiveness of St Peters.
The themes for Big Start collective worship are:
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The Life of Jesus
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People who changed the world
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Old Testament Heroes
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People who met Jesus
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Fruits of the Spirit
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Big World (annually)
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Life Skills
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Festivals
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Following Jesus
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Miracles of Jesus
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Parables of Jesus
Over a three year cycle, the Big Start assemblies reflect some of the essential features of the tradition of Anglican prayer and worship. They should nurture spiritual growth through the evolvement of senses, such as those of beauty, awe, wonder, pity, peace, greatness and smallness, and of feelings, such as pride, sadness, thankfulness, joy and happiness.
Pupils will be involved in worship as a School, as a key stage, as a class or as individuals through listening or taking part in contributing to the Act of Collective Worship. Our daily Acts of Collective Worship reflect these spiritual dimensions.
Our full Collective Worship policy is available on our 'policies' page.