Every day, our school community comes together for collective worship. As a Church of England school, our collective worship is centred on Christianity and our core Christian Values:
We encourage children to regard collective worship as a period of calm, respectful reflection: to be quiet and thoughtful, to listen carefully to the leader and to participate in prayer and hymns. We create a peaceful atmosphere by using music and candles and other elements that act as a focal point for the attention of the children.
Every day, a different member of staff or clergy leads our collective worship:
- Monday worship is led by our Headteacher.
- Tuesday’s Praise and Reflection is where the school joins together to celebrate through music and singing. It is led by Miss Sheehan, our music leader, and Mrs Leigh, one of our senior teachers.
We are really pleased to welcome the Diocese Children’s Minister, Captain Graham and his trusty assistant, Nancy. - Wednesday worship is led by our Deputy Headteacher. Some terms, each class leads an act of worship and presents what they’ve learned to the rest of the school. Parents are welcome to these
- Thursday worship is led every other week by Reverend Chris and our ‘Open the Book’ group. These friends inspire the children and engage them in learning about stories from the Bible. The children are often invited to dress up and join in!
- Friday worship is where we celebrate achievement in the school from the past week. Headteacher’s special mentions are given which include a celebration of children demonstrating our core Christian values. This is a wonderful way to end a learning week; along with marking birthdays and a delicious cake raffle, parents, carers and friends are warmly invited to join us.
We also celebrate the major Christian festivals throughout the year. Parents are often invited to join us, either at school or at our Parish Church, All Saints. These include the Christmas, Epiphany, Mothering Sunday, Easter, Ascension Day and Harvest services. We also celebrate the end of the school year with a celebration in our Parish Church.
Withdrawal from Collective Worship
While Woodchurch CE Primary School is a Church of England school, we are committed to respecting individual beliefs. Upon entrance to the school, parents are made aware of the Christian basis of our teaching. It is therefore unlikely that parents would wish to exercise their legal right of withdrawal. However, should such a case arise, the parents concerned should consult the Headteacher.
We celebrate the cultural diversity of all the members of our school and have a cohesive community. Whilst collective worship will always reflect the Christian ethos of our school, we respect and acknowledge the variety of religious observances which are represented in our school and within the wider community. We acknowledge too that there are those of no faith who choose to be part of our school community.
Further information may be found in our Collective Worship Policy which you can download here.
Have a look at some of the photos from our Acts of Worship at All Saints Church with Reverend Chris below.
