Spirituality at William Leech C of E Primary School
”Looking in, Looking Out, Looking Up”
Why is Spirituality Important?
The Church of England’s Vision for Education states a core desire of ‘life in all its fullness’. As a Church of England school, it is essential that we educate and develop the whole child ensuring Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development.
We explore Spirituality by providing our children with opportunities to be still and reflect. Spirituality enables children at William Leech C of E Primary school to be Happy, Healthy and Fulfilled.
Developing Spirituality in Our School
Spiritual development is closely linked to our School Vision and provides children with opportunities to reflect and think about:
- Themselves (LOOKING IN)
- Their relationship with others (LOOKING OUT)
- God and Jesus’ teachings (LOOKING UP)
IN: “We help children build strong foundations in themselves”.
OUT: “We build each other up so everyone can stand strong together”.
UP: “Rooted in Jesus’ teaching about the wise builder, we look up to God as the source of wisdom and stability”.
LOOKING IN at William Leech C of E Primary School means:
- Awareness of their own feelings and being able to reflect.
- Awareness of how unique they are and a happiness of who they are.
- Being thankful for the things they have and the person they are.
- Exploration of personal faith.
LOOKING OUT at William Leech C of E Primary School means:
- Showing empathy and understanding in relation to injustice and inequality.
- To love and be loved.
- To Be More and make a difference.
LOOKING UP at William Leech C of E Primary School means:
- Encountering and experiencing God
- Opportunities for prayer and reflection
- Making sense of the world
- Being open to more
Our children encounter a wide range of opportunities to develop their spirituality throughout their time with us. These include, but are not limited to:
- A daily act of Collective Worship.
- Reflection tasks linked to Collective Worship.
- Light Leaders planning and delivering Collective Worship.
- Children leading in daily prayer.
- Singing and a school Choir.
- A weekly act of Celebration Worship.
- Reflection Areas in each classroom throughout school to encourage children to quietly reflect and prayer throughout the day.
- Educational visits to places of worship
- School Value rewards and recognition.
- Displays around school are though-provoking and encourage children to be reflective.
- Our restorative behaviour policy allows opportunities for children to; reflect on the choices they make, understand that sometimes we will make mistakes and that we can learn from these.
Spirituality in Our Curriculum
Our ambitious enquiry curriculum ensure that children are exposed to a wide variety of spiritual experiences and deep meaningful questions. Children’s spiritual development is shown by their:
- Beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and the decisions they make
- The respect they show for different people’s values and feelings
- Sense of enjoyment and wonder in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
- Use of imagination and creativity in their learning
- Confidence to reflect on their experiences
Impact of Spirituality
In developing Spirituality our children realise how wonderful they are and realise their own potential. They are self-aware and show empathy towards others in and out of school. Our children are curious, open-minded and can explore things in appropriate ways. They can express and understand feelings and have a strong moral sense of right and wrong. Although able to enjoy and embrace quiet and stillness, they possess an active imagination.
Spirituality helps our children stand strong like the wise builder, grow in strength inside, and rise to new challenges with confidence.