Spirituality

At Sherburn Church of England Primary Academy, we believe it is essential to educate the whole child in Spirituality, providing opportunities to be still and reflect, to explore their own spirituality, and to respect others’ spirituality. 

As our school vision is “To inspire every child to look up with hope, aim high with ambition, and shine bright as the light of the world’ (Matthew 5:14) the opportunity for reflection in our children’s lives is a daily necessity to ensure they grow, succeed and find their purpose. 

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We want our children to develop their ‘light’ and be inspired by the light of others, we do this through daily collective worship, both as a whole school and individual class assemblies. We offer reflection tasks that are linked to these assemblies which expose our children to a wide variety of deep questions, encouraging them to challenge concepts and providing them opportunities to delve deeper into their own inner awareness. 

We provide a reflection garden and a forest school area for quiet contemplation and natural practice, and are in the process of developing a reflection bench on the playground. We have also created reflection areas in our classrooms to encourage stillness and contemplation. 

“Look up, Aim high, Shine Bright,” (which is linked to our Bible verse) is displayed in the entrance way, the hall and in every classroom. This is discussed with the children within all that they do. 

Within our collective worship we use symbols to promote a deep connection to the spiritual world. These symbols are windows, mirrors and doors.

Windows: Windows are used to look out onto the world and notice its wonders. Learning is connected to windows as we witness both the beauty and the devastation and use these vistas to embrace, question, challenge or wonder about the life we live in.

Mirrors: Mirrors are used to look into and reflect on. We can do this activity on our own or together as a group. Through discussion and conversation, important questions and thoughts can be shared and interconnections can grow. 

Doors: Doors serve a purpose, an opportunity to get to some place. By using this symbol we are encouraging children to make choices, decide goals, be creative or be specific in their answers.

Children encounter a range of opportunities to use this methodology within and outside of collective worship, which in turn develops their own spiritual journey. We encourage our pupils to reflect and consider their own actions through restorative practices and when working within the classroom or across teams.