Collective Worship Policy 2020-21

Birkrig, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9BN.

Telephone: 01695 724730.

www.bishopmartin.lancs.sch.uk Headteacher: Mr IJ McDonald

Collective Worship Policy 2020-21 At Bishop Martin Church of England School we welcome all children and their families from the community whatever their beliefs. Our distinctiveness as a Church school is distinguished by our mission to develop within our children an understanding of their own self worth, within a warm, caring, Christian environment. We aim for all who come to the school to see it as a place of learning, growth, mutual care and respect for self and for others of different faiths and beliefs. Together our shared Christian values and aims make up our school Mission Statement – ‘Learning Together, Growing in Faith’, which is underpinned by our School Values and delivered through our Code of Conduct, ‘RESPECT’: Mission Statement and Values

‘Respect’ Code of Conduct

Collective Worship aims to provide the opportunity for children to worship God, consider spiritual and moral issues and to explore their own beliefs.

The acts of worship that take place will be in accordance with the Anglican tradition (Trust Deed). The daily act of Collective Worship, in its’ varied contexts, is viewed as an integral and important part of school life.

The Christian ethos of our school, reflected in the school Values with their reference to a sense of Christian community through the value of ‘family’ requires that our daily act of worship is

‘Wholly Christian’. Effective worship helps us to open our hearts and minds to the richness of God and all he desires for us and to celebrate and enhance the life of the school in the presence of God. Worship, therefore is first of all an experience, secondly a learning event and thirdly a teaching opportunity. Although all are important, we do need to bear in mind this order of priority.

Collective worship should be an experience designed to leave children and adults open to respond to God in a variety of personal ways. We can also introduce at an appropriate time the correct understanding of the Son of God’s forgiveness.

Statement of Aims  Our worship should be consistent with Anglican beliefs  We should provide the opportunity for believers to worship and for others to reach the threshold of worship.  Opportunities to experience a variety of forms of worship should be given, including prayer and reflection.  Opportunities may be given for informal prayer.  Worship should also include communal celebration, thanksgiving, sorrow and sharing concerns as appropriate.  Our worship should contribute to the spiritual and moral development of pupils and staff.

The Outline for an Act of Collective Worship  Collective worship should last no longer than 10-15 minutes  Create an appropriate atmosphere in which to worship God by bringing the children in calmly.  The address should have in it a strong element of the visual/imaginative/story. Encourage the children to respond and take part. Take seriously their offerings.  At the end of the address use a time for reflection to help the children to make a practical connection between the issues of the theme and their personal experience.  Offer this to God in an appropriate prayer and regularly finish with the Lord’s Prayer or School Prayer.  Include the singing of hymns/Christian songs, related to the theme where possible.  Appropriate music may be used as the children enter and leave.

The knowing and saying of key Christian prayers we hope will build a foundation for the children’s prayer life in the future and provide links with the services conducted in Christ the Servant Church. These prayers can also be found in class reflection areas.

Worship frequently involves such teaching and learning activities as stories, discussion, question and answer, drama, music and reflection time (Such as the ‘Open the Book’ based worship, introduced by the Clergy in Summer 2015 and God’s Big Story introduced in 2017 and Heartsmart which was introduced in 2018).

Children should be able to experience the richness and diversity of different styles of Collective Worship. At Bishop Martin there are whole school acts of worship in the school halls and also in the church. There are acts of worship for each key stage/department and acts of worship in classes. These take place using the class reflection area as a focal point (See Appendix A for the current arrangements for Collective Worship).

Worship Group The School Worship Group (voted and selected by their peers at the start of each academic year) is given the opportunity to plan, prepare and lead worship throughout the school year. This regularly involves whole school worship at special events (Harvest, Christmas, Holy Week). The

Worship Group also take ownership of class reflection areas and assist in the leading of class based worship too.

The Different Contexts of Worship The whole school meet together at the beginning and end of each term and at the Eucharist services held at the end of each term in church. Children from Year 1 to Year 6 meet together in weekly acts of collective worship led by a member of SLT and clergy and are joined by those children in Reception classes when this is deemed to be appropriate.

Parents and governors are invited to attend Class Assemblies, our Harvest Festival Service, Eucharist Services and Leavers’ Service. The nursery class is invited to the class assemblies and special services.

Other visitors e.g. local clergy, governors, agents for charities are sometimes invited to lead the worship (our worship is enhanced by the strong links with the Local Methodist Circuit).

The planning and records of acts of worship are kept electronically on the school shared server for staff to access and share resources.

Parents have the right to withdraw children from acts of worship. (Education Reform Act 1988, section 9 (3), but very rarely do so.

The Content of Collective Worship The Content and Overview of Collective Worship is planned by the Collective Worship leader. The Worship Overview (see example on Appendix B), follows closely the Church of England liturgical calendar. We find as a school this is very useful as it ensures consistency between the themes of clergy and school-led worship. There is also an attached scripture reading (usually the Gospel reading from the Lectionary for that week), as well as an associated school Value to explore through the chosen weekly theme.

Reflections on the key beliefs of Christianity  The nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit  Jesus as the Son Of God who, through His life, death and resurrection, broke the power of evil and restored humanity’s relationship with God.  The nature of human beings as children of God  The central values of forgiveness, selfless love, redemption, goodness, compassion and charity.  The central place of the Bible as a source of knowledge about God and Jesus and as a source of inspiration and guidance.  The central symbols of Christianity  Celebration of major Christian festivals  Stories and teachings from Old and New Testaments with various styles of presentation.  Use of other literature, poetry, art and stories.  Use of topical/current events (international, national, local)  Conscious reflection on God and prayer  Appreciation/Thanksgiving for the natural world and human activity (creation)  Celebration of individual or school achievements  Taking note of events in the corporate life of, and individual lives of, pupils in the school.  Appreciation/Thanksgiving for the talents, achievements of and the work of ourselves and others.  Acknowledgement of failings and wrong doings, confession, forgiveness, reconciliation.  Intercession for others including the bereaved, sick etc.  Prayer in different forms, formal, collective, children’s own, meditation, silence.

Resources Resources for Collective Worship can be found electronically in the ‘Collective Worship’ folder on the school shared server. Teachers place the resources they find/use there so all can act collaboratively to support each other in planning for worship.

We also use our ‘Electronic Worship Book’ to store all our worship songs and a selection of responsive prayers that can be used. There are daily prayer books in every class reflection area too for children to access throughout the day Worshipping God within His natural creation is another area we have developed within the school. We have two outdoor worship areas (for Infants and Juniors) which our placed in our woodland ‘Values Walks’. These are used (when the seasons allow!) to add variety and richness to the settings we use for worship at Bishop Martin.

This policy is reviewed in line with the school review cycle.

Autumn Term A-M Warrington Collective Worship Lead Deputy Headteacher Appendix A 2020-2021 Collective Worship at Bishop Martin C.of E. Primary School Day

Who is Present

Led By

Monday/Praise

Whole School

Senior School Leadership

Tuesday

KS1 & KS2

Clergy

Wednesday

KS2 KS1

KS2 Teacher/Junior Hall KS1 Teacher/Infant Hall

Thursday

KS1 & KS2

Class Teacher/Classrooms

Friday

Whole School

SLT