Collective Worship at Harrietsham

Our daily act of Christian Collective Worship strengthens and supports the Christian identity of our school, reaffirms our school christian vision and associated values of Love, Forgiveness and Fellowship and celebrates the central role that each person has to play in our community. Our worship reflects the variety of traditions found in the Church of England and will recognise and follow the Christian liturgical year.

Collective worship is a time when the school community gathers, generating a deep sense of belonging ...This inspires a caring and loving environment, where there is a strong sense of fellowship and commitment to each other."

SIAMs Inspection 2024

As a Church of England school, Collective Worship is the beating heart of our school life. It brings and gives life to all we do; providing the opportunity to grow the spiritual potential of all our school community, no matter what point they are at in their own spiritual journey.

Collective Worship is a sacred and significant protected time of each school day, where we gather as a school family, rooted in our school values, to reflect, and respond to life’s big questions and celebrate our successes. Our times of worship make an important contribution to the overall spiritual, moral, social and cultural nurture of the whole school community, enabling all to flourish and achieve their God given potential.

What does Worship look like at Harrietsham?

Gathering together is important to us – it is a special time in the day when all can join together.

Each adult and pupil will experience worship that is truly welcoming, inclusive and exemplifying the principles of Christian hospitality.

Collective Worship therefore will be:

Inclusive – Our acts of worship recognise that pupils and staff come from homes of different faith backgrounds as well as no faith backgrounds, so it will be inclusive of, and fully accessible to all. Care will be taken to ensure that language used by those facilitating worship avoids assuming faith of those participating, listening or watching.
Invitational – In our acts of worship, there is no compulsion to ‘do anything’. Rather, worship will provide the opportunity to engage whilst allowing the freedom of those of different faiths and those who profess no religious faith to be present and to engage with integrity. Pupils and adults will only be invited to pray and sing if they wish to do so.
Inspiring – By asking and discussing big questions about who we are and what we do in worship we hope to motivate pupils and adults into action. There will be opportunities to think, reflect and ponder on their and the wider community’s behaviour and actions.

Worship is led by a number of staff, children and visitors and is an important part of the school day. Using a variety of music, prayer, drama, storytelling, videos, liturgy and art, the community is encouraged to reflect on the teachings of the Bible and on big questions.

The Structure of Collective Worship

We use a 4-part model for the structure of Collective Worship at Harrietsham.

1. Gather

Purpose: To welcome everyone and establish a prayerful atmosphere.
Activities:
- Playing worship, or quiet reflective, music on arrival.
- Displaying an image, quote or question to engage everyone in the theme.
- Creating a central focus point - the hall is set up with an ‘altar table’. This includes a table cloth, (which is the correct colour for the liturgical calendar) and candle.
- We welcome the school family by lighting the candle and by saying an Anglican liturgical greeting /prayer (May The Lord be with you...). The children have the option to respond (And also with you).

2. Engage

Purpose: To present the central message or theme for the worship.
Activities:
- Sharing a Bible reading, story, or poem.
- Using drama or a video.
- Discussing a theme or value.
- We ensure the school community have a role within worship. This could be planned or spontaneous and engage people individually, in groups or as a whole congregation.

3. Respond

Purpose: To provide a chance for participants to reflect on the message and respond to it.
Activities:
- A moment for stillness and silent reflection to think about the key messages / teachings and / or the Bible message.
- Opportunities to discuss and share ideas / answers to posed 'wondering questions'.
- Opportunities for singing.
- An oportunity to join in with the prayer, either personally (silently) or out loud as a group.

4. Send

Purpose: To conclude the worship and help participants take the message with them into their day.
Activities:
- Reiterating the key message.
- Closing prayers or liturgy.
- Blowing out the candle,
- The school family go out with a thought or question to enable them to continue their thinking and spur them into action (when appropriate) following the worship session.
- We close with an Anglican liturgical sending prayer (‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord’). The children have the opportunty to respond ('In the name of Christ, Amen') and we extinguish the candle.

Windows, Mirrors and Doors

To support everyone’s spiritual development at Harrietsham Church of England Primary School, we use the common language developed by Liz Mills of ‘windows, mirrors, and doors’ in our Collective Worship. This provides opportunities for questioning and experiences for everyone to reflect outwardly, inwardly, and beyond.

For more information about Windows, Mirrors and Doors, please see here: Spirituality at Harrietsham.

"Collective worship, both as a whole school community and within each class, promotes times of deep reflection. This fosters the spiritual growth of each one. At the same time, it drives a happy and supportive environment focused on the values of love, fellowship and forgiveness."

SIAMs Inspection 2024