Collective Worship

In all Church of England schools, collective worship reflects the traditions of the Church of England and develops learners' understanding of Anglican traditions and practice.

At both Ampfield CE Primary School and John Keble Church of England Primary School we take part in a daily act of Collective Worship, these are mostly as a whole school, but there is also a weekly class worship which gives each class a time to ponder questions and values more deeply. We focus on a value each half term and consider how these might link to our core values of Love, Hope, Trust and Forgiveness as well as in the wider community.

Occasionally Collective Worships take place outside and we share in the awe and wonder of God’s creation together.

While it is a Christian act of worship, we welcome children of Christian faith, other faiths and no faith to our worship and ensure it is planned to enable all children and staff to benefit without compromising their beliefs.

Collective worship in our school gives children and school staff the opportunity to:

• Engage in an act of community
• Express praise and thanksgiving to God
• Be still and reflect
• Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events
• Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness
• Reflect on the character of God and on the teachings of Christ
• Affirm Christian values and attitudes
• Share each other's joys and challenges
• Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar

Our Collective Worships take many forms. Sometimes they are quiet and reflective; at other times they are loud and interactive. Many different activities help us to give thanks to God and to celebrate being part of our community.

We are incredibly fortunate that we have a fortnightly Collective Worship led by our incumbents. Rev. William Prescott from All Saints Church Hursley at John Keble CE Primary School and Rev. Vanessa Lawrence at St. Marks Church, Ampfield for Ampfield CE Primary School. They also lead us in many celebrations and events throughout the year, such as Harvest Festival, Remembrance Day, Christmas and Easter.

Our Fridays, Collective Worship is a special time where we share in our thanks to God and celebrate our learning experiences from the week.  This is an opportunity to celebrate progress in learning and children who have demonstrated our five Rs of learning as well as celebrate children who have demonstrated our Christian values that week.

Themes and the Big Question

Each half term we have a biblical based theme and every week we have a Big Question that we pose to the children. During every Collective Worship there is an opportunity for challenge, for reflection, prayer and praise. The children are invited to pray and share their prayers with their class and the whole school if they so wish.

Child-led Worship

Our Spiritual Leaders are two children from each class who help to shape our Collective Worships by supporting the teachers in planning, delivering and evaluating our worships.

All the children, each half term, have an opportunity to plan and deliver a class collective worship based around the Big Question we reflect upon each week.

Family Group Worship

Every half term the children meet in their family groups (a child from each year group are allocated a family) to complete an activity, to ponder more deeply and have fun together. It is a really special time and we look forward to these times as a federated community.

Candle Prayer

We start all of our worship times with our candle prayer to help us get ready for worship: