Spirituality

Through our vision and the values of our school we wish to nurture children’s spiritual awareness and develop each child’s spiritual character in readiness for the life beyond their primary years.

What is spirituality?

Spirituality is an individual journey to find meaning and purpose and a sense of connection. This relates to my connection to:

• Myself
• Others
• The wider world (including art, music and nature)
• That which is beyond or bigger than me (transcendence and some people would use the word God)

We believe that developing spirituality is a shared journey as a school family for children and adults alike and will enable all to explore what shining God’s light in all that we do means to each one of us.

What would be the indicators of these connections?

Myself

• Being aware of my feelings and having the ability to reflect on and express them
• Recognition of my uniqueness and my understanding of who I am
• Gratitude for what I have and who I am
• In being truthful to myself, I am guided and make decisions and develop opinions with integrity
• Exploration of my personal faith and beliefs, which may or may not be linked to a particular religion

Others

• To show love and inclusivity towards others
• Being aware of the feelings of others and the impact of the actions towards and from others
• Understand the importance of empathy, respect and diversity

The wider world (including art, music and nature)

• Developing a sense of awe and wonder
• Recognising and taking time to enjoy the miracles of everyday life
• Appreciating beauty in its many forms, eg art, music, nature, the local environment
• Considering how my actions can make a difference in an unfair world

That which is beyond or bigger than me

(transcendence and some people would use the word God)

• Ability to formulate and discuss ‘Big Questions’
• Opportunities for prayer, connecting with God

• Encountering/experiencing God (having a sense of what may lie beyond the material/physical world)

Ways we develop spirituality at St John's (CE) Primary Academy:

1. Have regular time in the day for quiet and reflection. This might be listening to a story, lighting a candle in collective worship, going for a walk
2. Provide many opportunities for creativity and using the imagination
3. Valuing play opportunities
4. Singing often, especially with others.
5. Explore the ‘Big Questions’ – particularly through our RE programme
6. Ensuring invitational opportunities for prayer. This can take many forms, but should including being thankful, saying sorry.
7. Provide frequent opportunities for children to explore, express and share feelings.
8. Constantly reaffirm the importance of relationships. How we talk to and relate with each other is fundamental.
9. Provide opportunities to express awe and wonder, appreciate beauty in all its forms, and appreciate the connections and unity in the world
10. Encourage each other to admit mistakes and to say sorry. Recognising and owning up to faults is an important healing and redemptive process.
11. Encourage children to show kindness, caring and compassion, and to express these in practical ways. (eg: how we treat each other every day; charitable works; looking after pets)
12. Read often to children, and give them opportunities to discuss and reflect. This includes both secular and religious texts, in particular the Bible

Structures to support and develop spirituality:

• Opportunities are planned across our curriculum.
• We have a planned programme for Collective Worship across the school. This maps out themes across the year, based on our school values and ‘Values for Life’
• Our reflective discussions are used regularly as a focal point for reflection, and include RE and PSHE
• There is a daily act of collective worship taking different forms, and involving children
• Displays and pictures around the school continually celebrate and encourage reflection and spirituality
• Our RE curriculum is inspiring and motivating
• Visits and visitors support all our work

Impact: how do we know that spirituality is developed at St John's (CE) Primary Academy?

Through our spiritual development, we reflect the vision and values of our school. We love and accept ourselves. We enjoy positive relationships with each other.  We find delight and joy in the world around us and have hope when things are challenging. We love to engage deeply with ‘big questions’. We understand and respect that each person and their beliefs are unique and that these can manifest themselves in faith and belief in God. We have a strong moral compass and value truth. We know there is a time for quiet and stillness, noise and clamour and know that each day is a new and precious opportunity.