Collective worship is the heartbeat of our Church school community. It provides pupils and adults with meaningful opportunities to encounter faith and to engage in conversations about God, both individually and together.

At Amport Primary School, our collective worship reflects and strengthens our school vision, aims and ethos. It both implicitly and explicitly expresses our Christian values of Courage, Compassion and Respect. Our worship draws on the rich traditions of the Church of England and follows the Christian liturgical year. This daily act of Christian worship sits at the centre of our school life and is supported by all staff and governors.

We view collective worship as a significant and valued part of each school day. It offers time for reflection, spiritual growth and the development of our distinctive Christian character. It also contributes to pupils’ academic achievement, personal development and wellbeing. Through worship, we celebrate the unique contribution each member of our community brings, nurturing a sense of belonging, purpose and shared identity.

We aim for our collective worship to:

• Be a daily expression of our school’s Christian vision.
• To celebrate what is good and worthwhile in the school and wider community
• To develop a feeling of belonging and sense of identity
• Be inclusive, invitational and inspiring for all pupils, staff and parents and visitors
• Offer the opportunity, without compulsion, to all pupils and adults to grow spiritually through experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection
• Enable all pupils and adults to appreciate that Christians worship in different ways, for example using music, silence, story, prayer, reflection, the varied liturgical and other traditions of Anglican worship and festivals
• Provide opportunities for children to plan, lead, contribute to, monitor and evaluate collective worship
• Invite clergy of the parish, other lay members of the parish and other Christian leaders in the community to lead regular worship

Collective worship includes the educational opportunities for

• The whole community to celebrate
• Developing the ability to reflect
• Sharing and experiencing differences
• Developing a culture of learning
• Building a sense of group identity
• Encouraging a sense of personal and social responsibility
• A break from the busyness of life (for stillness and quiet)
• Learning how to behave in a large social group
• Exploring feelings and emotions
• Learning how to perform in front of an audience
• Learning how to respond to a performance
• Making visible the school’s leadership
• Developing inner awareness