Collective Worship and Spirituality

Welcome to our page about collective worship and spirituality at Shankhill CofE Primary School. As a small, voluntary controlled Church of England primary school in the rural hills of North Cumbria, collective worship is central to our school day. It is a time when everyone — pupils, staff and visitors — comes together to learn, reflect and grow through the life and teachings of Jesus and the Christian tradition.

Our approach in brief

Collective worship is inclusive, invitational and inspirational: everyone is welcome to join, invited to explore faith and spirituality, and encouraged to reflect in ways that are meaningful to them. Worship happens daily and is woven into school life so that spiritual development supports learning, wellbeing and community life.

Our practice is rooted in the three core principles of the Church of England and shaped by the Diocese of Carlisle’s Spirituality teachings alongside our own Shankhill Virtues.

Collective worship at Shankhill

We hold daily collective worship as a shared, purposeful act that nurtures spiritual growth and moral formation. Typical features include:

Whole-school gatherings and smaller class-based reflections so worship can be scaled and made relevant to the broader mixed-age groups.
A balance of Bible teaching, reflection, prayer, silence, story, music and sung worship.
Opportunities for pupils to lead worship, present reflections, use creative arts, and share personal experiences.
Reflection spaces around school where pupils can pause, think and pray in their own way.

What is spirituality?

It is very difficult to put into words what ‘spirituality’ actually is, because it is a very personal experience, and each person’s experience will be different and change over a lifetime. Spirituality is not the same as having faith or belonging to a particular religion; a person can be spiritual without adhering to a particular faith. Spirituality is like the roots of a tree: we cannot see the roots beneath the soil, but without them the tree would not grow and flourish — it would fall. We cannot see a person’s spirituality, but everyone has it within them. Without our own sense of spiritual connection, like the tree, we too cannot flourish fully as God intends.

Everyone’s spiritual connection is different. For some people spirituality will be connecting to a faith or a religion; for others it will be connecting to nature, to other people, to themselves, or to the wider world. It may involve looking for meaning or purpose.

As a school, we have defined spirituality as: Spirituality is not something we can see; it is something we feel inside ourselves. It is about awe and wonder, asking questions, inspiration and being aware of something ‘bigger’ outside of ourselves.

Spirituality and the Shankhill Virtues — the ring-doughnut metaphor

We express our spirituality daily through the Shankhill Virtues, linked to our six core values. To help explain how these virtues work together to form a whole person, we use a simple image: a ring doughnut. The doughnut shows the outer visible qualities — the sugar, the icing, the sprinkles — and a central hole that cannot be seen, touched or owned by anyone else. The visible parts are the actions, behaviours and talents we can observe in one another: kindness, skills, achievements. The hole at the centre represents the inner, unseen spirit — a person’s character, conscience, soul and inner moral compass. It is intrinsic to who we are and guides us, yet it remains personal and unseen. To be whole, the ring doughnut needs that hole: without it the shape and meaning are lost. In the same way, our outward lives are shaped and sustained by the unseen spiritual core within us.

Our six core values and how worship connects to them

WISDOM — Be curious, reflect, learn and grow. Collective worship fosters curiosity and provides time for thoughtful reflection.
HOPE — Hopes • Beliefs • Values. Worship nurtures hope and explores belief in ways that build resilience.
COMMUNITY — Forgive and friendship. Worship models forgiveness, belonging and shared responsibility.
DIGNITY — Know me • Think of others. We treat every person with tolerance and respect, encouraging pupils to value themselves and others as valued human beings.
PEACE — Love and care • Stillness • Prayer. Worship includes stillness and practises that cultivate inner calm and care for others.
JOY — Be thankful • Awe and wonder. We celebrate God’s creation and the joys of learning, cultivating gratitude and wonder.

These virtues are practised beyond worship: they shape classroom conversation, pastoral support, curriculum choices and how we live together as a community.

How worship supports learning, wellbeing and inclusion

Spiritual development is integrated with our curriculum and pastoral work so that pupils flourish academically, morally and emotionally. Our assessment outcomes (EYFS, Phonics, MTC and KS2) consistently sit above national and local averages and reflect the impact of a coherent, Vision, Values and Virtues-led approach across school life.
Worship contributes to wellbeing: we use prayer, reflection and stillness to help pupils regulate emotions and develop positive mental health strategies.
Our small, rural context means the school often acts as a hub for the locality. Collective worship and related activities (for example, our weekly baby and toddler group and community lunches) strengthen community links and support families.
Worship is designed to be accessible for all pupils, including those with SEND and additional wellbeing needs. It is sensitive to differing beliefs while being rooted in our Christian vision to enable everyone to flourish.

Partnerships and governance

Our Christian vision — “Creative learning, personal achievement and happiness: enabling everyone to flourish” — shapes worship policy and practice. Church foundation and governing board expertise supports strong leadership of collective worship and spiritual life across the school.

We work in partnership with the Diocese of Carlisle, our local parish, NISCU and other faith-community contacts to enrich the worship life of the school and to provide theological grounding, resources and visiting speakers.

Examples from school life

Mixed-age worship where Year 5 and 6 pupils lead a Bible story and other pupils respond through artwork and prayer.
Reflection corners in each classroom with prompts linked to the weekly virtue and space for quiet thought.
Seasonal services and celebrations that include songs, drama and community invitations, bringing families and the parish together.
Pupils lead and actively contribute to worship through participation and planning their own short acts of worship, as well as suggesting themes for reflection across the term - these develop throughout the Autumn term as the Ethos Explorers begin their new journey.
Enriching spiritual experiences like 'Experience Easter' where our whole school community are invited to participate.
RE weeks and shared experiences with our local cluster of Church of England Schools.

How we measure impact

Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and participation in worship are observed and reflected in pastoral notes and pupil voice feedback.
Leaders and governors review how worship contributes to spiritual development in the context of our Christian vision and report on this to the governing board.
Collective worship is considered alongside curriculum and wellbeing measures when evaluating how well pupils are flourishing.

Getting involved / Next steps

Parents are warmly invited to attend termly services and special worship events. Please check the school calendar for dates.
Governors and staff welcome feedback about worship, spiritual life and how this connects to pupils’ experience in school.

Summary

Collective worship at Shankhill CofE Primary School is a joyful, reflective and integral part of our school day. Rooted in Christian teaching, shaped by spiritual flourishing and expressed through our Shankhill Virtues and six core values, worship supports pupils to flourish — and explained by the ring-doughnut image of visible and unseen parts of the person — worship supports pupils to flourish (reflect, learn and grow) — academically, morally and spiritually — in line with our vision: to enable everyone to live life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

If you would like further details about our collective worship programme, resources or how we support pupils’ spiritual development, please contact the school office.