Collective Worship

Intent

At St Barnabas Church of England Primary School, collective worship is at the heart of daily school life. Guided by Jesus’ words in John 15:12 – “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” – our worship helps pupils and adults alike to live out our Christian values of Hope, Courage, Compassion, and Respect. Each half-term, we focus on one value in depth through assemblies, lessons, and school routines.

Through daily collective worship, we aim to preserve and strengthen the Christian character of our school, while ensuring our practice is consistent with the principles and traditions of the Church of England and statutory requirements.

Worship provides precious time for reflection – to explore values, grow spiritually, and consider our place in God’s world. Pupils are encouraged to think deeply, build relationships, and develop their own sense of meaning, regardless of individual faith beliefs. Alongside this, British values of democracy, liberty, the rule of law, respect, and tolerance are woven into worship, RE, PSHE and daily school life.

Our intent is to:

• Provide daily opportunities for prayer, reflection and worship.

• Explore and discuss Bible stories, considering their meaning for today.

• Deepen pupils’ understanding of Christian values and how they shape our lives.

• Strengthen links with St Barnabas Church and the wider community.

• Encourage pupils to reflect on global issues and respond through prayer, action or service.

• Celebrate music, prayer, reading and creativity as acts of worship.

• Develop respect and understanding of other faiths and traditions.

Implementation

We gather every morning for Collective Worship, creating a positive start to the day. Worship is planned around the Christian calendar, Bible stories, our school values, and themes from our Personal Development curriculum. Each act of worship follows four elements: Welcome, Learning, Reflection and Response.

Weekly Structure

• Monday – Whole-school values worship led by the Headteacher, introducing the theme of the week.

• Tuesday – Singing worship, provides a joyful way for the whole community to worship together, deepen faith, and celebrate shared values through music.

• Wednesday – Whole school worship, Picture News  providing the opportunity for children to learn about themselves and the world we live in as well as developing respect for other’s beliefs, feelings and faiths.

• Thursday – Class worship led by class teachers where they reflection on the Picture News and Christian theme from the previous day.

• Friday – Celebration worship led by the Headteacher, including Value Champions, birthdays and achievements. 

Enrichment

• Worship is enriched by stories, poems, art, music, quotes, questions, visuals, and prayer.

• Visitors from the church and wider community regularly lead worship.

• Parents are kept informed of themes through newsletters.

• Singing is central – pupils sing daily, learning familiar favourites and new songs across the year.

School Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Our School Prayer:
Dear Lord, as we light this candle,
help us to remember that you are the light of the world.
Shine your light on us and guide us in all that we do today.
Help us to show kindness, respect, and love to everyone we meet.
Be with us in our work and in our play,
and help us to follow in your footsteps.
Amen.

Worship begins with lighting a candle, symbolising Jesus as the light of the world. It closes with the candle being blown out, marking the end of our time together.

Community and Reflection Spaces

We host termly services at Harvest, Christmas, and Easter at St Barnabas Church, involving hymns, readings, drama, and prayer. Pupils often lead these services and take pride in sharing worship with family and friends.

In school, pupils access reflective spaces – an Indoor Reflective Area, an Outdoor Reflective Area, and Classroom Worship Areas – offering quiet opportunities to pray, reflect, or respond to worship themes.

Parents retain the right to withdraw children from collective worship, and alternative provision will be made. Staff are expected to show commitment by participating in and supporting worship.

Impact

Collective Worship at St Barnabas is inclusive and accessible for all pupils, whatever their faith background or none. It nurtures spiritual growth, builds community, and reflects the inclusive ethos of our school.

We monitor the quality and impact of worship throughout the year. Pupils, staff, governors, and trustees share their views through discussions, surveys and evaluations. Feedback is considered by the Collective Worship Coordinator, Senior Leadership Team, and Worship Link Governor, and informs future planning.

Through worship, our children learn to:

• Reflect deeply and ask big questions.

• Understand and live out Christian values.

• Appreciate the traditions of the Church of England.

• Respect people of all faiths and none.

• Grow in confidence, compassion, and love for others.

In this way, worship at St Barnabas helps pupils to shine brightly and to live out Jesus’ command: “Love each other as I have loved you.”

At St Barnabas Church of England Primary School, our collective worship is at the heart of daily school life. We embody Christian values such as Hope, Courage, Compassion, and Respect, studying one value in detail each half-term through assemblies, lessons, and school routines.

Worship provides a precious time for reflection—for children and adults alike—to explore our values, grow spiritually, and consider their place in our world. We encourage opportunities to think deeply, cultivate relationships, and develop personal meaning, regardless of individual faith beliefs. British values such as democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect, and tolerance are woven throughout assemblies, RE, PSHE, and classroom life.