Our vision

Through going the ‘extra mile’, our vision is to bring God’s ‘colour’ into the lives of all in our school community and to ‘colour’ with them the world around us. 

Our vision influences the ethos of our school and the policies and practices within it. We believe that spirituality is a core thread that runs through our school and we attach great importance to it for both children’s development and for the growth and well-being of all within our school community.

We aim for children, and adults, to grow in their ability to:

  • be guided by their beliefs and values and be willing to take a stand to defend them.
  • be self-aware and empathise with the experience of others in the school and wider community.
  • love themselves, care for themselves, believe in their potential to achieve, and find inner strength and resilience when facing challenges.
  • exercise imagination and creativity, appreciate beauty in the world and be alive to experiences of awe and wonder.
  • be intrigued by mystery and be open to an awareness of the transcendent in the whole of life.
  • be comfortable with stillness and silence and open to engage in reflection/meditation/prayer.
  • be ready to say sorry when mistakes are made, to forgive themselves and to forgive others.
  • be willing to take risks and to reflect, learn and grow following experiences of failure as well as success.
  • demonstrate curiosity and open mindedness when exploring life’s big questions.
  • appreciate and be thankful for what is good in life like friends and family, and show generosity towards others.

Our shared understanding of ‘spirituality’

Our staff, governors and children have agreed on a definition of spiritual development in our school community to support us as we talk about spirituality.

Spiritual development is the ‘recolouring’ of our whole lives.  The ‘wows’ (moments of wonder), the ‘ows’ (moments of discomfort and pain) and the ‘nows’ (moments of ordinariness) of life offer the possibility to become more aware of ourselves, one another, the world around us and to explore the boundaries of ‘beyond’ and ‘other’.

Organisation

The spiritual growth of pupils is not only dependent on learning in RE, opportunities for enhancing the spiritual well-being of learners are developed in every aspect of our school life. We support the whole school community to share this responsibility and to develop the shared language of spirituality. Opportunities are available for all to develop spiritually in our supportive and nurturing school inspired by our vision and lived out through our Christian values.

We have identified specific areas which contribute to the spiritual growth of pupils: collective worship, the whole curriculum, including RE and the general ethos of the school within daily life.

Spirituality Spaces

Each classroom has a ‘Spirituality Space’ which contain links to our Collective Worship theme for the week and also a reflective, independent activity that children are encouraged to engage with at various points throughout the school day.  These activities give children time and space to stop and reflect and to respond in creative ways to support spiritual development.

Spirituality in Collective Worship

Collective Worship is the beating heart of our school. It provides the opportunity for our school community to share experiences, ideas and understanding. It is the context in which the language of spirituality, which we use as a school, is regularly and explicitly shared. Collective Worship provides the opportunity for pupils to become aware of the importance of reflection and how our positive and negative experiences can be formative. It also provides a real sense of being present (‘now’ moments) which are often linked to invitations to pray. Through daily Collective Worship, pupils are offered a space and a place for hearing the Christian story. They are offered an understanding of worship by being invited to participate in, or observe, Christian spiritual practices such as: prayer, reading and reflection on the Bible and liturgy and are introduced to different musical traditions. Opportunities to reflect on the ‘wows’ of life such as beauty and joy of the world are given, as well as time to reflect and empathise with the ‘ow’ moments of disappointment or pain. Pupils are given time to consider their responsibilities to others and to grow in love and service. Time is given for celebration, both for the accomplishments of school members and to mark seasonal Christian festivals and celebrations in the calendars of other faiths. In this way pupils are offered time to be able to contemplate and develop spiritually. Our Collective Worship is invitational, inspirational and inclusive.

Spirituality in Religious Education

The Church of England’s Statement of Entitlement outlines the aims and expectations for Religious Education in Church of England Schools and guides our approach to RE and spirituality. Learning activities in RE provide for the needs of all pupils, offering a safe space to explore their own religious, spiritual and/or philosophical ways of seeing, living and thinking, believing and belonging. They provide opportunities to engage in meaningful and informed dialogue with those of all religions and worldviews, linking these to pupils’ ideas of spirituality and the language of ‘wows’, ‘ows’ and ‘nows’ where appropriate.

Spirituality within the Curriculum

Drawing on the language of ‘wows’, ‘ows’ and ‘nows’, conversations around spirituality will be included in classroom teaching when appropriate from Reception to Year 6.

Maths Points to consider:

  • The wonder of number patterns.
  • What cannot be measured? For example, love.
  • What cannot be accurately counted? For example, the difference an act of kindness makes.

Reading Points to consider: 

  • How do you frame questions around a text? For example:
    • What inspired you in this text? 
    • How did a character cope with a challenge in life?
    • How did the actions of a character surprise you? How do you think you would have responded to that wow or ow moment?
    • What do you think makes these words so powerful/beautiful/painful?

Writing Points to consider:

  • If pupils are invited to write about things that have profound meaning to them, how is this writing valued? How can it be recognised as having value, rather than simply be reduced to an evaluation of SPAG?

DT Points to consider:

  • What motivates designers and their decisions? For example, is it a desire to make money or a desire to help and make improvements to daily life for everyone?

Music Points to consider:

  • What style of music ‘invites you to explore the mystery that dances within your soul’ (K. Hall)?
  • What styles of music have the opposite effect? How does music encourage creativity, delight, and curiosity?

MFL Points to consider: 

  • What motivates language learning? For example, buying an ice cream on holiday or welcoming and comforting a stranger in our country?
  • What does it feel like to genuinely communicate with someone in a new language?

Geography Points to consider:

  • The wow of physical geography.
  • The ow of discovering different physical regions do not provide the same opportunities.
  • What options/opportunities are there to respond and take responsibility in a challenging world?

History Points to consider:

  • Which stories tell historical wows?
  • Which stories tell historical ows? 
  • What lessons for future decisions and choices do they provide?

PE Points to consider:

  • How do you celebrate a new skill? How does it feel to be proud of your whole self?
  • What does it feel like to be completely focused on a task or challenge?
  • How do you recognise the delight in movement, connectedness, and creativity?
  • Encourage the awareness of one’s own strength and limitations.
  • Recognise/celebrate equality, freedom, respect and trust.

Science Points to consider:

  • Delight in discovering how things work.
  • Opportunities to linger longer on the wonder!
  • What questions cannot be answered by science?

Art Points to consider:

  • How does art invite you to explore the mystery that dances within your soul?
  • What are the wows and ows in the stories behind the artists you study?
  • How do you celebrate and respect different responses to art?

PSHCE & RSE Points to consider: 

  • As you explore topics such as relationships, feelings & attitudes, keeping safe and ‘your body’ where are the natural links with the wows, ‘ows’ and ‘nows’?
  • How can the honesty and sensitivity needed to explore these topics gently reflect the language of spirituality already used throughout the school?

All Subjects Points to consider:

  • How do you celebrate the achievement and break-through ‘wows’ of success?
  • How do you support the ‘ows’ of difficulty and frustrations?
  • How do you maximise the everyday moment of concentration and being in the present, creating a sense of calm and completeness?

Spirituality within the Ethos of the Daily Life of the School

At St Luke’s, we view spiritual growth as becoming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality. These opportunities happen throughout each and every day as children deal with delight, disappointment and the chance to be present with themselves. For this reason, every member of the school community, including lunchtime and administrative staff are familiar with the school’s shared language of spirituality and will respond to pupils appropriately.

Throughout the daily life of the school, including lunch times and playtimes, pupils know that their references to ‘wows’, ‘ows’ and ‘nows’ will be heard and taken seriously. They will be encouraged to reflect on these experiences and be comfortable about talking about spirituality.

Recording, Monitoring and Evaluation

The Foundation Governors review the policy in partnership with Senior/ Middle Leaders and consider any views expressed by parents, children and staff in order to make any changes or recommendations. Recommendations are fed back to the full governing body and are then actioned as appropriate. Governors ensure that this policy is fully implemented and that practice is consistent with the school’s Christian vision, in line with the school’s monitoring policy and schedule for governors.

Roles and Responsibilities

Recognising there are opportunities for enhancing the spiritual well-being of learners in every aspect of our school life, every member of our staff team is committed to support this spiritual growth wherever appropriate. Mark Hodgkinson is responsible for supporting and leading spiritual development in our school, including monitoring opportunities for spiritual growth in collective worship, the whole curriculum (including RE) and the general ethos of the school within daily life, This role also includes:

  • Ensuring personal knowledge and expertise are kept up-to-date by participating in CPD and shared good practice.
  • Providing and sourcing in-service training for staff as necessary.
  • Ensuring all staff are familiar with the shared language of spirituality
  • Acquiring and organising appropriate resources.
  • Monitoring the opportunities for spiritual growth through regular observations and learning walks in both formal and informal contexts, discussions with colleagues and pupil voice.

We ensure that all staff, including support staff, receive appropriate training and opportunities for professional development, both as individuals and as groups or teams. NQTs and staff who are new to our school will receive training and support from the staff member identified as leading on spirituality.