APS Collective Worship Policy

ASHURST CE AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL

COLLECTIVE WORSHIP POLICY

What does Collective Worship look like at Ashurst CE Aided primary School?

Ashurst CE Aided Primary School values the church of St. James’, Ashurst as a sacred and special place. Worshipping at St James’ is an important part of our collective worship, a place where we meet our families, our community and our God.  Our’ New Beginnings’, ‘Advent’, ‘Easter’ and ‘Leavers’ services are special occasions that enrich our spiritual and learning experiences and enable us to root ourselves in the Parish and wider Christian community.

Collective Worship is a time when the whole school, or groups within the school meet together to honour God. Through this time of worship, we can become aware of God’s presence in our community, share our hopes and concerns for ourselves and others, reflect and give thanks and praise.  

In keeping with the vision and the aims of our school, Collective Worship at Ashurst aims to:

o   place God at the centre of our school life

o   be a daily expression of our school’s Christian vision rooted in 1John: 3-18 “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”.

o   be invitational and inspiring for all

o   help us to understand that God is with us through all we do and speak

o   provide daily opportunities for reflection,

o   provide opportunities to develop our understanding of ourselves 

o   focus on, and promote core Christian values through Bible stories, moral stories, prayer, music, singing and drama

o   allow for personal beliefs

o   provide opportunities for spiritual and moral development

o   develop a sense of stewardship and responsibility for our world

o   be inclusive and age appropriate, so that all can participate at their own level

o   introduce children to the Christian beliefs, both within and beyond the Church of England.

o   encourage a sense of awe and wonder and celebrate what we value.

o   be stimulating, engaging and genuine

We believe that collective Worship strengthens our school community; it enables us to further embed our chosen values of love, hope and joy in our daily lives. 

When we gather to express, celebrate and participate in these values we are building a loving, caring, rejoicing community which has the confidence to reach out and act on these values for the benefit of others.

Organisation and planning:

From September 2025 our Collective Worship will be organised in a different way. A three-year rolling programme of worship is being developed which includes resources from the Diocese of Rochester, the Diocese of Canterbury, Picture News Worship, and visiting clergy and lay groups including SPLASH! And Open the Book.

In a typical week collective worship may include:

Whole school collective worship, led by the headteacher,

Class worship, linked to whole school collective worship, led by class teachers.

Whole school ‘Picture News Worship’, led by the headteacher.

Class worship, linked to ‘Picture News Worship’ led by class teachers.

Hymn and singing practice provide opportunities to focus on an aspect in a song or hymn and reflect on its meaning for themselves and others, as well as reflecting on how these songs link with our collective worship themes and recent assemblies. Children have time to consider what the words tell them about Christian beliefs.

Celebration and achievement assemblies, to which parents and families are invited, take place once a month.

Whole school collective worship led by members of the clergy or other church members, ‘Open the Book’ (a group comprising members of our local community) and SPLASH! (a group from Findon Valley Free Church) take place half termly.

Ashurst has a group of KS2 children who named themselves ‘Worship Warriors’. The Worship Warriors support collective worship with both ideas and participation. The group suggest new members when children leave Y6. These children support and take on roles within collective worship and lead special events such as Remembrance. Easter, Advent and Y6 Leavers service.

Our ‘Growing Partnerships’ group was established to grow and develop the relationship between our school and the church communities that we are part of. Members of this group regularly meet to discuss and plan key aspects of worship and celebration throughout the year. These include our shared services in St James’ Church and annual Eucharist celebrations in school.

Collective Worship is designed to reflect and reinforce the Christian vision and values of the school and covers the main seasons, feasts and festivals of the Christian year, as well as important school events.

There is an emphasis on supporting pupils to understand and reflect on the messages of the Bible. 

Lights and music play an important role in Collective Worship.  The coloured lights representing our four house teams of St Wilfred, St Cuthman, St Lewenna and St Dunstan are brought in to represent our community coming together and favourite hymns of praise are selected by adults and children.

These include our Ashurst song of praise “Ring the Bell”, written by the school in Autumn 2020 to reflect our chosen values of love, hope and joy, and to make explicit our belief that we all play an important role in our wider community.

Prayer and Reflection:

Prayer is central to the life of our school. The Lord’s Prayer is used throughout the school.

A dedicated indoor prayer area is looked after by a group of Y6 children, who update it creatively with resources to record our thoughts and prayers. Prayers and displays in each class provide an opportunity for children to learn to reflect and pray in a personal way. Children join in with a thanksgiving prayer before lunch each day and prayers are shared in classes at appropriate times of the day such as gathering or sending out time. Some of our favourites include

“Lord keep us safe this night,

Secure from all our fears,

May angels guard us while we sleep,

Until morning light appears.”

And this prayer, written by Y3&Y4 to reflect our school values:

“Our Father,

Thank you for this day and what it brings.

Help us to have love in our hearts

Let us have hope in our friends

And spread joy in your kingdom

Amen”

Content:

Acts of Worship follow the traditional liturgical structure of the Church of England and includes:

 Gathering: A call to worship and traditional greeting such as ‘The Lord Be with You”

Engaging:

This is the part of the worship where we are asked to join in with something. This might include; listening to a story or a prayer or a song, looking at different pictures or artefacts, watching a play or joining in with an activity or thinking about something.

Responding:

This is the part of the worship where we have time to reflect personally on the idea or theme we have explored or a reading we have listened to. This often includes a quiet time for reflection, prayer or song.

Sending out:

We are reminded of the theme and given encouragement to take forward these ideas into the life of the school, living out the Christian Values of Love, Hope and Joy.

Creative engagement and response:

Our creative and visual approach to worship aims to inspire engagement and response. Follow up activities and invitations for reflection are provided in class assemblies and children record their thoughts and observations in their ‘collective Worship’ book. Displays around the school, including crosses, our values and our house teams, act as visual reminders for children that God is with us in all we do, wherever they are and wherever they are on their journey.

Evaluation and Monitoring:

 Information to evaluate the impact of Collective Worship is gathered in various ways, including feedback from pupils, parents, staff, governors, visitors and the diocese. The impact of collective worship is monitored through regular feedback from children and staff. Reviews are carried out by the headteacher and the governors for Christian Distinctiveness.  The Headteacher gathers pupil voice about collective worship each term.

The school will be inspected through Section 48 SIAMS inspection.

Collective Worship

S. Smith August 2025