Intent

At JHN, we are a creative community that builds understanding, respect and empathy in young people through our vision ‘Let your Light Shine’ (Matthew 5:16). Pupils, staff and parents of all faiths and those of different world views are welcome as our Collective Worship recognises that the school community is a collection of unique individuals. Thus, our acts of Collective Worship are sensitive to the collective character of individual schools and are inclusive, whilst following a distinctive Christian character. 

At JHN we like to refer to worship as the definition ‘worth-ship’, which we ensure our collective worship is giving worth to different things, for example celebration, community, singing. It gives children and adults time and space to give worth and reflect on these things. 

Collective worship provides an opportunity for members of the school community to pause from activity, to gather, to remind them of and to reflect upon the school’s vision and values which bind the school community together. It also allows those with a religious commitment the possibility of entering into worship and those with no religious commitment to sense what worship is and to reflect deeply. In this way we aim both to affirm and to protect the integrity of all members of the school community. 

 

In particular, collective worship at JHN:

  • provides an opportunity for all members of the school community to stop activity, to pause and to reflect on important issues;
  • fosters a sense of fellowship and belonging
  • builds up the sense of group identity, fostering concern for the needs of each other;
  • gives pupils the experience of being still or silent;
  • provides an opportunity for celebrating times of success or joy and in times of sadness or sorrow; 
  • provides an opportunity for highlighting and reflecting upon core school values and vision.
  • offers the opportunity to mark significant points in the year, such as festivals and school events.

Collective worship at JHN aims to:

  •  1) contributes to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils 
  • 2) be inclusive, inspirational and invitational 
  • 3) be educational

Implementation

Each day we have a whole school collective worship. It begins with our pupil leaders opening with a prayer of blessing and closes with the ‘Littlemore Prayer’, and a sharing of the peace from the pupil leaders. 

Both whole school and class collective worship is reflected upon by pupils in their class collective worship reflection journal. 

Usually, our whole school collective worship holds the following pattern, however this can change to respond to local and global events and topics:

 

Monday – Theme of the week (JIGSAW values)

Tuesday – Clergy collective worship

Wednesday – Singing collective worship

Thursday – British values collective worship OR class assembly

Friday – Celebration collective worship

 

The Head of School, Senior Leader for Quality of Education and the lead of Collective Worship have oversight over our collective worship and undertake regular monitoring and evaluation;

  • All staff and children may be involved in leading acts of worship, whether whole school,

phase or class based;

  • There is a timetabled act of worship for every class, every day, with additional acts of

worship, such as visiting the local church or additional in school events such as carol services

timetabled as required

  • Every child has opportunities for further reflection and prayer through the week which may

include use of their class reflection corner, reflection books, prayer space, Space Makers, Christian prayer books and bibles, and the school Canon of Prayer