Collective Worship 

Inclusive, Invitational, Inspiring

We aim to follow the Church of England guidance on Collective Worship, which 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.’ We follow this guidance by ensuring that collective worship is inclusive, invitational and inspiring, providing an encounter with God, to aid all children and adults to flourish and to ‘live life in all its fullness’ John 10:10.

We hold a daily act of collective worship in our school.

Worship is the heartbeat of our school. 

The daily act of collective worship is a legal requirement in all schools and ours reflect the traditions of the Church of England. Our shared faith is an important part of school life; staff and pupils value collective worship times and the whole school come together to: learn, reflect, express praise, share Christian Values, celebrate special times and festivals throughout the year and develop our spiritual awareness.

We conduct collective worship in a dignified and respectful way. It is regarded as a special time to come together and we expect children to enjoy the period of calm reflection. We listen carefully to the teachings and participate in prayer and hymns. We represent Anglican traditions by using prayers, readings, music, candles and displaying the liturgical banner in the school hall. 

The headteacher or other teachers normally conduct collective worship, with visitors from organisations and local groups invited to speak to the children. The local clergy and representatives of other local churches regularly lead collective worship. We hold whole school community services in our parish churches of St Mark's with St Margaret's and The Ascension to celebrate Christian festivals (such as Harvest, Christmas, Easter) and special events, like the Year 6 leavers service. Parents, carers, governors and other visitors are warmly invited to attend our collective worships. 

Themes of Collective Worship

Our collective worship themes are planned in advance from our Christian Values, combined with our British values, Christian calendar events, and topics that are part of our school curriculum. We also hold class learning celebration collective worships. We want our worship times to reflect our diverse school community. Our pupil Faith Group members are undertaking a Faith Leader training program to become more experienced in leading and organising collective worships. 

A Source of Inspiration

Collective Worship should be of the highest quality as an offering to God. It should aim to inspire all pupils and adults. Please click here to find out more about our Collective Worship Policy.

Spiritual Development

Our collective worship times offer the opportunity for pupils and adults to develop spiritually by referring to our whole school spiritual development concepts of 'Transformation, Reflection, Experience, and Encounters'. 

Collective Worship Weekly Structure

This is the normal structure when no events/visits are planned. 

Visitors we have welcomed in our Collective Worship

Andy from the local Slade Evangelical Church regularly visits us and supports the children in their Christian learning. This term he spoke to us on our Christian value of friendship. He shared the story of the biblical friendship of Ruth and Naomi. The children love Andy's visits as he is very entertaining and as many have said this helps them to remember the teachings and stay engaged.  

Last term we enjoyed a visit from an American Mission group, they were visiting a local church in Abbey Wood and joined with Andy from the Slade Church to join us. They performed a dance that explained our Christian vision of Jesus' sacrificial love for us. It was very moving and the children loved to meet the American students. 

Last term we were visited by NED in our collective worship time. Throughout the performance, our children and staff discovered how to activate their growth mindset to overcome social, emotional and academic challenges. We believe this contributes to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. 

We also have regular visits to our local churches of St Mark's with St Margaret's and the Ascension.