Being a Church School

Being a Church school

We are part of the Church of England and we include the church, and people who work with the church, in our school family.  We visit the church regularly and involve people who work with the church in our worship.  As a Church of England School, our school vision has the Christian ethos at the centre and we try to model the teaching of Jesus through the Bible within our daily lives. We do not try to convert all our pupils to Christianity. We are proud to have pupils from other cultures and faiths and we enjoy learning about their different beliefs and traditions. We aim to nurture the children and give them the opportunities to become the best they can.

Collective Worship
It is a statutory requirement for all church schools to hold a daily act of Collective Worship. This is a good opportunity for us to meet as a whole school and take time to think and reflect. Our Collective Worship may take a range of forms such as celebrating success, welcoming members of the clergy or sharing work with others. We focus on a different Christian Value each term. The older children plan and deliver their own Collective Worship to their class and other children. Our Worship Council also leads Collective Worship during the year.

At St Mark's our Collective Worship aims to be inclusive, invitational and inspiring.

Through Collective Worship, we aim to give the children opportunities to:

• Recognise the place Christian faith has in the lives of people
• Develop a sense of wonder, awe, curiosity and mystery
• Understand the difference between right and wrong and the consequences of their actions for themselves and for others
• Be creative, questioning and imaginative within a broad Christian framework that recognises the importance of experience, personal values and respect for the beliefs of others
• Recognise, respect and celebrate cultural diversity
• See the relevance of Christian tradition in their own lives
• To be part of the planning process for Collective Worship so it is meaningful to them

Spirituality
The school aims to support each individual and encourage them to flourish. Pupils are encouraged to explore and develop their own values and beliefs (which may or may not be Christian), and to appreciate the richness and diversity of the world. This is coupled with the promotion of high standards of personal behaviour and positive, caring, attitudes - all based on firm understadning of Christian values.

Spiritual development cannot always be structured and opportunities may arise spontaneously out of the school day. A range of experiences and curriculum areas provide opportunities for spiritual development (eg. Circle Time, drama, PSHE, science, humanities, PE, music and RE) as well as special events, trips and experiences.

Our spiritual development links closely with our Collective Worship and both support and complement each other. However, spiritual development permeates all of the work of the school.