We believe that in our daily collective worship when all members of the school come together, we try to create an occasion which produces a variety of responses, one of which is worship. We acknowledge the 1988 Education Reform Act which clearly states that collective worship should be ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’.
The purpose of collective worship are to:
• provide an opportunity for the children to worship God
• enable children to consider spiritual and moral issues
• enable children to explore their own beliefs
• encourage participation and response
• develop in children a sense of community spirit
• promote a common ethos with shared values and to reinforce positive attitudes
• teach children how to worship
• develop British Values
• develop the Social, moral, spiritual and Cultural ethos of the school.
However, we believe we must conduct our assemblies in a manner that is sensitive to the individual faith and beliefs of all members of the school. Therefore, throughout the academic year we will hold assemblies that reflect other religions as we want all children to feel included whatever their beliefs or background.
We would like everyone to take an active part in our collective worship but we are aware that teachers and children have the right to withdraw from the religious element of collective worship. We acknowledge that children’s entitlement to Acts of Collective Worship should not be affected by gender, culture, race or special needs. We will ensure that there are no barriers to this equality of opportunity.