St Stephen's Church of England Primary School and Nursery
St Stephen's Church of England Primary School and Nursery
Collective Worship
At St. Stephen's School, we aim for collective worship to go beyond being just a daily moment of 'awe and wonder.' We strive for it to serve as the distinctive core of the school experience, providing a broader platform for students and adults to engage in conversations about God, both individually and collectively, as a means to encounter faith.
In the fast-paced and unpredictable world in which we reside, it holds great significance and is indeed a privilege to delve into the deeper questions of life and faith with staff and our children. Our goal is to instil within their hearts and minds a deep understanding of Philippians 4:13, which reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Through our efforts to immerse them in our St Stephen’s community, we aspire to facilitate their spiritual growth. By doing so, we aim to foster qualities such as love, respect and empathy towards others.
The Programme of Themes
The themes for collective worship are drawn up by Senior Leaders and the Adult Faith Team and follow a four-year rolling programme. These themes relate to Jesus’ core teaching as well as exploring key people from the Old Testament. The themes also include aspects from the church calendar and major Christian festivals.
The school’s ethos is underpinned by its eleven values: Equality, Endurance, Honesty, Courage, Hope, Compassion, Peace, Thankfulness, Love, Forgiveness and Service. These were chosen by the whole school community and reflect the values we all have in common. Each month one of these values is explored in greater depth through collective worship so that everyone within the community is regularly reviewing our Christian values and principles. Each value is underpinned by a biblical verse chosen by the school community.
Acts of worship are led by the Executive Headteacher, Head of School, Inclusion Manager, Assistant Headteachers, teachers and members of St. Stephen’s Church.
| Cycle | Autumn | Spring | Summer |
| A |
Words of Wisdom Proverbs explored through the Mister Men Books |
Face to Face with Jesus Key people who were changed by meeting Jesus |
Bee Attitudes Looking at the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount |
| B |
It’s a Load of Rubbish Paul’s Story in Acts |
Love Is … Based on 1 Corinthians 13 |
It’s a Puzzle Understanding the parables |
| C |
Giving Directions Lessons learnt through the story of Moses |
It’s a Kind of Magic Miracles of Jesus |
Metal Fruit The Armour of God |
| D |
Both Sides of the Story The Life of David |
Heroes Looking at Christian values through inspirational people |
Dangerous Journey Lessons learnt through Pilgrims Progress |
At St. Stephen's we aim to ensure that Collective Worship is representative of our context and through working with the Adult Faith Team, Pupil Faith Team and School Council we regularly review Collective Worship with the aim of improving it.