Developing Spirituality
‘Spirituality is not something we can see; it is something we feel inside ourselves.’ Spirituality is about cultivating amazement, curiosity, skills of close observation, time and care.
At King William Street CE Primary School, we encourage Spirituality using a framework developed by Andrew Ricketts where the children reflect on
- knowing themselves
- valuing others (an awareness of more than yourself),
- responding to world and beauty
- thinking about things beyond (an awareness of being a small part of something bigger).
Our school Spirituality Policy
In class worship, we were given the opportunity to listen and reflect upon ‘Prelude to Lavenham’ by Geoffrey Nobes.
How is spirituality developed at our school?
To enable our pupils to be reflective, thoughtful and tolerant young people, we are beginning to provide a range of spiritual opportunities, both formal and informal, within worship and across the school day. These opportunities include:
- Engaging in discussions where contributions and opinions are valued
- Sharing beliefs and ideas about a text through discussion
- Developing vocabulary so that we can express our innermost feelings and ideas
- Be exposed to a range of stimuli in order to generate creativity in their use of language
- Develop self -esteem by taking responsibility for our own learning, discuss and communicate, seek help with misunderstandings
- Experience a sense of wonder, curiosity, mystery in science and art
- Respond to the work of renowned artists, using a variety of media and materials
- Experience music directly, practically and creatively through listening, performing, comparing
- Gain an insight into thoughts and feelings and how to express them
- Reflect and experience stillness and silence
- Enquire and ask questions rather than being given only facts
- Handle religious artefacts with sensitivity and respect
- Experience awe and fascination of the natural world through visual, active experiences as well as films and documentaries – e.g. volcanoes.
What our children say about class worship linked to spirituality
'In worship, I enjoy looking at the pictures because it gives me time to think about what is happening and what it is saying.'
'I am given time to reflect, be still and time to think which means I can sit in silence and imagine how I would feel.'
'In worship, we have time to close our eyes and imagine-it is relaxing.'
'Hearing the chime, makes it peaceful and still.'
