Spirituality at Queen's Park C.E./U.R.C. Primary School

Spirituality at Queen’s Park CE/URC Primary School

Spirituality is not the same as religious faith but it is bedrock on which faith is founded.  At Queen’s Park CE/URC Primary School, we agreed on the definition of spirituality development as connecting with ourselves, others, the world and God, through whom, everything is possible. (Matthew 19:26).

Ofsted define how pupil’s spiritual development is shown by them:

• ability to be reflective about their own beliefs (religious or otherwise) and perspective on life;

• knowledge of, and respect for, different people’s faiths, feelings and values;

• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them;

• use of imagination and creativity in their learning;

• willingness to reflect on their experiences.

   

We explore spirituality through our Spiritual Capacities (our Spiritual C’s) which are curiosity, creativity, compassion, captivation, consciousness, being courageous contributors and having opportunities to contemplate

Using the ‘What if Learning strategies, this document outlines how we promote spirituality, through both planned and spontaneous opportunities, in all aspects of Queen’s Park life including: our theologically-rooted Christian Vision, Collective Worship and our CROWN curriculum.

Our Spiritual Capacities (Our 7 C’s)

David Smith in his book ‘Making sense of Spiritual Development’ (1999) states a number of human capacities commonly identified as related to spiritual development. 

Spiritual Capacities include children’s ability to:

• be guided by their beliefs and values and be willing to take a stand to defend them (conscious)

• be self-aware and empathise with the experience of others in the school and wider community (compassionate)

• exercise imagination and creativity, appreciate beauty in the world and be alive to experiences of awe and wonder (creativity)

• be intrigued by mystery and be open to an awareness of the transcendent in the whole of life (captivation)

• be comfortable with stillness and silence and open to engage in reflection/meditation/prayer (contemplation)

• demonstrate curiosity and open mindedness when exploring life’s big questions (curiosity)

• appreciate and be thankful for what is good in life and show generosity towards other (courageous contributors)

With staff holding a secure understanding of our consistent school approach, opportunities for spiritual development are then woven throughout the curriculum. 

How do staff support pupils in their spiritual development?

Staff have a secure understanding of spiritual development.

As a school, we have a culture within our school that recognises the importance of spirituality to individuals, both children and staff.

• We revisit spirituality as an area for consideration in our staff meetings and offer training.

• We ensure new staff are aware of our school policy on spiritual development

• We are aware of spiritual development shown across four key areas of Self, Others, the World and God (Rebecca Nye)

• We actively use the language we have agreed on with staff to nurture an awareness of spirituality and its importance to well-being and development with the children.

• We aim to help each pupil to develop a spiritual understanding in terms of their own cultural context.

• We share with parents, whenever possible, the outcomes of our focus on spiritual development through newsletters, social media, displays and our website.

• We discuss spirituality with our church and others who can further support this further.

This is evidenced through ‘spirituality in the spotlight’ that are carefully planned throughout the wider curriculum through our consistent approach. Please find the examples below from all curriculum subjects.

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