Collective Worship

Collective Worship

Dersingham VA Primary school aims to provide collective worship that is Inclusive, Invitational and Inspiring. We aim to preserve and develop the school’s Christian Distinctiveness by encouraging and developing an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith.  Our Christian values are at the heart of everything we do at the school.

The 1988 Education Reform Act requires that there be a daily act of collective worship for all pupils, which is of a wholly or mainly broadly Christian character. Collective worship takes place each day with the pupils grouped in various ways; as a whole school, in Key Stages or sometimes year groups. 

The aims of collection worship

• To provide an opportunity for the children to worship God.
• To enable children to consider spiritual and moral issues.
• To enable the children to explore their own beliefs.
• To encourage participation and response.
• To develop a sense of community spirit.
• To promote a common ethos with shared values and positive attitudes.

Our School works in partnership with parents, our local church and the wider Diocese to nurture confident and responsible children who respect other faiths and adopt positive roles in the community. Our Christian values are promoted in all aspects of school life and we encourage all members of our community to promote an ethos where care and respect is shown to everyone. We believe that our school provides a stimulating learning environment, encourages excellence, actively promotes British values and enables children to achieve their full potential.

As a school we have developed a three-year programme based around the ‘Roots and Shoots’; 'Values for Life'. These are used as themes with the theme/value changing each half term. The timetable can be seen below:

 Other Values to be covered during Collective Worship:

• Peace – Remembrance
• Courage
• Dignity

As a church school, we meet together for collective worship to learn about, and reflect upon, those values, considering how we can put them into action in our lives. This is an important time for all of us to gather together to learn, worship and grow in our understanding of God and of ourselves.

Each half term we focus on a particular value, with further opportunities for the children to think about these values through their curriculum studies and during reflection times. At the end of each week, we celebrate children’s achievements, acknowledging children who have demonstrated those values.

We believe that by living out these values our pupils are developing their spirituality and are being guided to become responsible, compassionate and respectful citizens.

We have introduced a range of books into our school to support our Values for Life. These are changed half termly/termly and help the children to consider our value in different ways. The books are shared with the children as part of collective worship to reinforce the core value and are then displayed in the corridor.

Collective Worship Outside School

As a school we are very lucky to be able to engage with our local church at several key times throughout the year.

• Our Year 4 children focus on Harvest and lead a whole school act of Collective Worship in St Nicholas Church in the village where we give thanks for the harvest and for everyone having enough food to eat.
• Our Year 5 children plan and lead an act of collective worship based around the Easter story.
• Our Year 2 children lead a beautiful celebration focussed on Christingle. This service brings the younger children in our school together with families to remind us that Christ is the light who came into the world at Christmas.
• Our Year 3 children lead a Christmas service at the church telling the Christmas story through a mix of drama, readings and prayers.
• Our Reception and Year 1 children perform a Christmas nativity based on an element of the Christmas story.
• Our Year 6 children lead the leavers service in church at the end of the year to celebrate their time at our school and this provides the whole school community to wish them well on their journey to high school.

Provision

Collective Worship is conducted in a dignified and respectful way, expecting children to behave appropriately. The collective worship atmosphere is created by using music, pictures or artefacts as a focal point for discussion.

A typical week of Collective Worship would be: