Collective Worship

Aims for Collective Worship

At Blakesley Church of England Primary School, Collective Worship is at the heart of our life and work. We provide an opportunity for pupils and staff to worship in both contemporary and traditional Christian styles, consistent with the beliefs and practices of the Church of England.

Practicalities of Organisation

Our daily act of Collective Worship forms part of each morning assembly. The format for these is agreed annually.

A termly schedule is produced, illustrating the themes covered in Collective Worship We conduct Collective Worship in a dignified and respectful way. We tell pupils that worship time is special thinking time for calm reflection. We regard it as a special time and expect them to behave in an appropriate way. We ask them to be quiet and thoughtful and to listen carefully to the teaching. We invite them to participate in prayer and songs. We create an appropriate atmosphere by using music and a cross and candles representing the Holy Trinity; these act as a focal point for the attention of the pupils

The Headteacher and other members of staff lead Collective Worship. Our pupil Collective Worship Leaders open our worship every Monday with our school Liturgy. Representatives from St Mary’s Church Blakesley lead and contribute to our weekly worship as well as our Church services throughout the year. Services led by our pupils for Harvest, Christingle, Christmas, Mothering Sunday, Easter and Pentecost are held in the Church each year. Parents, friends and members of the community are invited to join our worship at these special times of year. Our pupils also lead an annual Remembrance Service which takes place on the green outside of the school. Each child makes a large red poppy which is planted on the green. The children stand amongst the poppies during the service which is always well attended by parents and the wider community. The poppies remain on display on the green for Remembrance Day.

This brings greater variety to our worship times and strengthens links between the Academy and the local church. Parents and carers are invited to Friday Collective Worship and our special services, e.g. at Christmas, Easter and the end of the academy year. This promotes the community spirit of the Academy. We welcome governors’ attendance at our Collective Worship at any time.

The Lighthouse Trust visit Blakesley and lead our Collective Worship once a term. Stories, prayers, songs and reflections are shared.

For our whole school worship on Mondays, we use learn, reflect and respond as a format for us to follow. This is visually represented through the use of windows, mirrors and doors. The symbol of the window enables us to think about our new learning or thinking, the mirror encourages us to take the opportunity to reflect on what that means for us and the door encourages pupils to consider how their new learning can be used in our lives moving forward.

Other opportunities for prayer and reflection are given at lunchtimes and in classes at the end of each academy day. Prayer and reflective spaces are available in all classrooms, places where children can quietly reflect, access Bible stories and prayer books. Themed prayer spaces are set up around the school, prompting children to reflect and create prayers based on different themes both personal and on a global scale.

Content

Each Friday, we also hold Collective Worship called ‘Praise’; this focuses on praising the achievements and learning of the pupils. We encourage the pupils to participate in Collective Worship by sharing work that they have discussed in their classes. Collective Worship offers an opportunity to acknowledge and reward pupils for their achievements both in and out of the Academy. Praise plays an important part in promoting the ethos of the Academy, pupils are recognised for showing our school vales both in school and in the wider community. Our vision and ethos means that all pupils are valued and all achievements recognised.

Collective Worship offers our community the opportunity to experience and explore their spirituality. Pupils participate in prayer and song; worship offers a time for stillness, silence and reflection. We create an appropriate atmosphere by using music and a cross and candles that act as a focal point for the attention of the pupils.

Worship incorporates Music, Hymns and Songs, Website clips, Readings from The Bible and other sources, Stories, Drama, Stillness, Reflection, Discussion and Prayer.

All our worship includes these key elements :

• An altar table with appropriate liturgical coloured cloth
• The lighting of a candle to represent, “Jesus is the Light of the world” or
• The lighting of candles to represent the Trinity
• Call and response (Leader: ‘May the Lord be with you.’ Worship community ‘And also with you.’)
• A main discussion point or story
• Silent reflection time
• Prayer
• Blowing out of candle
• A Christian song or a song that illustrates our values