St Paul's CofE Primary School
RE
Please visit our RE website for more information about RE at St Paul's: https://stpaulswiganre.org.uk
http://www.christianvalues4schools.org.uk/
RE, Collective Worship and the Christian Values..
RE and Ethos
As we are a Church of England School, we adhere to all its beliefs and practices. As a school we follow the syllabus which was devised by Blackburn Diocese, which is endorsed by Liverpool Diocese. Collective worship is held every day, including a service from our vicar, Rev. Neil Cook, every Wednesday. Parents and carers are warmly welcomed to join us for this worship opportunity. We are very proud of our close relationship with St. Paul’s Church, and hold many services there, planned and delivered collaboratively by both church and school. Rev Cook also visits each class every year to teach a lesson, giving the children the benefit of his expert knowledge. The religious education at St. Paul’s School encourages children to develop their sense of identity as a person, to develop a sense of community and to consider their own place in creation. They are encouraged to feel that they belong to one large family that encompasses their own immediate family, that of the school, the church and the community at large. The principles of Christianity form the ethos of the whole school and are inherent in all aspects of school life. The pupils also study other faiths and are taught to be tolerant towards them. As a school, we collectively focus on the Christian Value of Koinonia and each individual class has their own value to explore in depth. These have included Friendship, Truthfulness and Forgiveness. We encourage the children to show ‘Christian Values’ in all aspects of their life and commend examples of these which we see around school by giving ‘Christian Value’ special mentions in Celebration Assembly which is held on a Friday. Another aspect the classes focus on is ‘British Values’. Work and discussion on these social and moral values encourages the children to focus on how we should live, and question how they relate to other cultures, religions and our national life. Again, these are split between the classes, giving the children a particular focus each year.
Key Stage 1 – Democracy
Year 3 – Mutual tolerance
Year 4 – Respectful attitudes
Year 5 – The rule of law
Year 6 – Individual liberty
The children and parents are invited to give their feedback and suggestions on how we carry out our collective worship and services, and the Ethos Committee is a big part of this process. Representatives from each of the Key Stage 2 classes assist in helping to maintain and develop our Christian ethos and promote Christian and British values. As a school we support numerous charities, and our most recent Butterfly Tree Charity Appeal, raised over £200 for children in Zambia. We are very lucky that our children and their families are so generous, and can help us to help children all over the world.
WORSHIP THEMES
AUTUMN
1st half term
NEW BEGINNINGS
Outdoor Worship Theme
HARVEST Prayers for others
2nd half term
JOURNEYS
ADVENT Prayers of thanks
SPRING
GOD'S WONDERFUL WORLD
SUMMER
GOD'S PEOPLE/JOURNEYS
Religious Education and Worship
The inspectors in our October 2011 SIAS Inspection (RE inspection) report, in which we were judged to be ‘outstanding’, stated that “the school has a clear and distinctive Christian ethos. Christian values form the foundation of the school and permeate every part of the curriculum.” Amongst our established strengths are the supportive Christian relationships within the family of the school and the Christian vision held by all.
We understand that parents have the right to withdraw children from R.E and Worship but this isn’t within our usual experience and children are encouraged to take part in daily Acts of Worship, Whole School Assemblies, the Vicar’s Wednesday Worship, in Key Stage worship, or in class. On other special occasions, such as harvest, Advent and Easter we worship in our Church and encourage our families to join us. Many children also belong to the Church Uniformed Organisations and may also attend the Sunday School. The SIAS Inspectors noted that the “innumerable acts of kindness make this school a very special place.” We are concerned with the welfare of the whole child including his or her personal, social, moral and spiritual development and endeavour daily to lead each child through their own individual faith journey.
Collective Worship Policy 2016