Collective Worship

The Importance of Collective Worship at St Clement’s CEP

Our Collective Worship policy strengthens and supports the Christian identity of our school, reinforces our vision and values, and celebrates the unique and diverse contribution that each child makes to our community.

Our worship reflects the rich traditions of the Church of England and follows the Christian liturgical year. The daily act of Christian worship is central to our ethos and is supported by all staff and governors. It plays an important role in the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of our entire school community.

Collective Worship will be:

Inclusive – Our acts of worship recognise that pupils and staff come from a variety of faith backgrounds, as well as no faith background. Worship is designed to be inclusive and fully accessible to all. Care is taken to use language that does not assume the faith of anyone participating, listening, or watching.

Invitational – Participation in worship is never compulsory. Pupils and adults are invited, but not expected, to engage. Those of different faiths, or with no religious faith, are welcome to be present and engage in a way that feels authentic to them. Praying and singing are only encouraged for those who wish to take part.

Inspiring – Our worship encourages reflection on big questions about who we are and how we live. Pupils and adults are given time to think, reflect, and consider their own actions as well as their contribution to the wider community. Worship aims to motivate everyone to grow spiritually, reflect together, and be inspired to act with integrity and kindness.

Collective Worship at St Clement’s provides pupils and staff with the opportunity to:

Engage in an act of community
Express praise and thanksgiving to God
Be still and reflect
Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events
Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness
Reflect on the character of God and the teachings of Christ through Biblical texts
Affirm Christian values and attitudes
Share each other’s joys and challenges
Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar

Parental Withdrawal

Worship is a special part of our school day, where we come together as a school family. Reflecting our ethos as a Church of England school, collective worship is inclusive, welcoming those of all faiths and none to participate with integrity.

We also respect the legal right of parents to withdraw their child or children from acts of collective worship. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this decision with parents, and any formal request to withdraw a child should be made in writing to the Headteacher.

Aims of Collective Worship

Collective Worship offers pupils, staff and the wider school community the opportunity to:

Gather together to share sacred moments of joy, challenge, grief and love.
Explore the school’s distinctive Christian vision and values in action
Reflect on the nature of God and on the teachings of Christ through Biblical texts
Express praise and thanksgiving to God
Be still, pray and reflect
Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events
Become Agents of Change, working to make a positive impact upon their own lives, lives within the community and wider world
Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness
Explore Christian values and attitudes
Share each other’s joys and challenges
Celebrate significant and special times in the Christian calendar

Implementation

Collective worship is planned by a variety of stakeholders including staff, pupils, when possible, the incumbent of our local church and external visitors from World Religions: Judaism, Sikhism and Hindus in consultation with the collective worship leader. This act of worship will take place at the school day and in any regular school grouping e.g. whole school, key stage or class. Our school plans systematically and cohesively use Canterbury Diocesan Collective Worship Planning which is adapted and changed to meet the needs of our community, by the children and teachers. This ensures that there is a shared understanding of the long- and short-term planning of worship and this enables continuity.

Our Collective Worship Timetable

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Whole School Worship	Whole School Worship	Singing Worship	Child Led Whole School Worship	Celebration worship
Headteacher or Deputy Head	Headteacher or Deputy Head	Teacher Led	Class led	Headteacher or Deputy Head

We are mindful of the variation in personal, spiritual styles and provide a range of creative opportunities to enable all to engage in the acts of worship. These include: music, videos, silence, symbolism, drama, and use of IT.

Our worship consists of 4 stages:

Gather – we welcome the community, for example, (with music, liturgy and the lighting of a candle)

Engage – we share, for example, (a Bible reading, followed by an activity to engage pupils with the Christian message). We look outwards and learn

Respond – pupils, for example, (discuss, share, reflect, pray or sing). We reflect on our experiences.

Send – We share the message of worship again and encourage pupils to reflect on how they will let it guide their day, learning, and behaviour.

We close with liturgy, a final prayer, music, and the blowing out or turning off of our special candles.

Guiding Lights

Guiding Lights lead termly Collective Worship: Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas and Easter. Music will be played and set up before Collective Worship begins allowing for children to walk in and out silently; Worship Adults will ensure children are settled and sitting in silence.

Prayers

Saying prayers together is an important part of everyday life at St Clement’s CEP. We say different prayers at different times of the day, and it would be useful if you could help your child to learn them. During worship we also encourage the children to make up and say their own prayers so that they recognise that they can have their own conversations with God whenever they like – these often go along the lines of: thanking God for something, saying sorry for something and asking for help.