Collective Worship

Collective Worship at St James Primary

At St James, we believe in the importance of coming together as a community to engage in collective worship. It is a special time where students, staff, and sometimes parents or visitors gather to reflect, share experiences, and celebrate our values.

Collective worship plays an integral part in developing St James’ strong Christian ethos. Through collective worship, we provide opportunities for children and staff to reflect in many aspects of Christianity and explore our vision: “To encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are now doing,” Thessalonians, 5:11.  

During collective worship, we explore all Christian values, particularly our school values of respect, kindness, wisdom, perseverance, and joy, fostering a sense of unity and belonging within our school.

Our aims

Through collective worship, we aim to promote out school values and celebrate the rich diversity within our school community, recognising and respecting the various beliefs and backgrounds of our children and staff.

It provides a space for quiet reflection, allowing children to ponder on their own beliefs, experiences, and the world around them. By coming together in collective worship, we strengthen our sense of community spirit, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected.

We seek to develop spiritual growth by providing a nurturing environment where students can explore their beliefs, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussions about their faith.

What happens during Collective Worship?

We start each day with a whole school collective worship where pupils and staff join together. We enter the hall to an inspirational musician of the week, linked to a local or national theme. Music and songs are used to create a peaceful and uplifting atmosphere, enhancing the collective worship experience. Through Picture News we provide opportunities for children to learn from our world and develop respect for other’s beliefs, feelings and faiths. Through this we ensure collective worship is inclusive, invitational and inspiring.

There is time for quiet reflection and prayer, where students are encouraged to think about the themes discussed and their own thoughts and feelings.

We actively involve students in leading collective worship, whether through readings, prayers, drama or sharing their own thoughts and experiences.

During collective worship led by St James church we use the key question for the week and make links with parables, or passages from the bible. We also attend St James church once a term, four times a year, where classes contribute to the service through readings, prayers and song.

Parents and community involvement

We warmly welcome parents and members of the community to join us for collective worship on a Friday, when they are led by a particular class. We also encourage members of our community to lead on inspirational assemblies, strengthening our sense of belonging and reinforcing the values of St James.

Collective worship is an important part of daily life at St James, providing a meaningful opportunity for our school to come together, reflect, and grow spiritually and emotionally. Through collective worship, we strive to nurture compassionate, respectful, and empathetic individuals who are well-prepared to contribute positively to the world around them. It is also a time to come together to learn and grow in faith. Though our collective worship sessions, we seek to inspire and empower our children to live our school values in their daily lives.

Please read our Collective Worship Policy for further information.