Being a Church School
At Sparsholt C of E Primary School we are proud to be an open, inclusive, diverse church school at the centre of our community, where children are encouraged to shine like stars in the universe with Courage, Compassion and Creativity. Being a church school, we have close links with St Stephen’s Church, alongside that of the local community, providing mutual benefit for all. We are so glad to be close to the church in every sense.
We aim to provide a challenging, yet nurturing environment based on our Christian Values. It is our responsibility as a Church of England school to provide the children with the building blocks of the Christian faith through worship, prayer and familiarity with Scripture. Our children are challenged to think for themselves about the big questions that face the world today, within an environment, which is accepting of other faiths and cultures.
Spirituality at Sparsholt C of E Primary School
Spirituality is woven like a golden thread throughout our school, enriching who we are. Spirituality looks to explore our relationships and connections. These are relationships with:
- Ourselves
- Others
- The World
- Beyond
We provide a range of planned and unplanned opportunities for children to develop their own spiritual journey.
How is Spirituality Nurtured?
Children’s spiritual development is developed through all aspects of our provision. We give children opportunities to:
- Express personal beliefs and compare views with others, sharing feelings and opinions through discussions and stories.
- Begin to develop their own system of beliefs which may or may not include religious beliefs.
- Experience a love of learning through rewarding their enthusiasm and by encouraging exploratory play and learning.
- Reflect upon the world around them and show a sense of awe and wonder towards aspects of the natural world or human achievement.
- Reflect on the situations of others through role play and stories.
- Experience a range of stories, music, art, drama and dance
Teaching Opportunities and Strategies
As a school, we explore the Liz Mills concept of the three areas for spiritual development.
Encounter- learning about life (the window)
Reflection- learning from life (the mirror)
Transformation –learning to live what we believe (the door)
WINDOWS: giving children opportunities to become aware of the world in new ways; to wonder about life's 'Wow!’ moments (things that are amazing) and 'Oh! moments' (things that bring us up short).
MIRRORS: giving children opportunities to reflect on their experiences; life's big questions and to consider some possible answers. They learn from life by exploring their own insights and perspectives and those of others.
DOORS: giving children opportunities to respond to all of this; to do something creative as a means of expressing, applying and further developing their thoughts and convictions
We provide WINDOWS moments throughout our curriculum. Children experience awe and wonder, both planned and incidental, from a variety of stimuli, including photos, outdoor learning, video clips, music, current events and real-life stories.
Children at our school often identify DOORS for themselves. They may hear of a local issue or an international event and request to take action, through fund raising and raising awareness. We also work with the local community through litter picking, making posters for display in the village, local fundraising and other activities. We also take part in Comic Relief, Children in Need and The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal as well as identifying other local charities to support during the year such as The Winchester Food Bank. We are also linked to the global charity, Karis Kids supporting orphaned children in Kampala, Uganda.
Through providing an exciting, engaging and thought provoking curriculum, we encourage children to explore, ask questions, reflect and grow as unique individuals. We want our pupils to go out from Sparsholt C of E Primary School and shine brightly, like stars in the universe in their local, wider and global communities throughout their whole lives.
Collective Worship
An act of Collective Worship takes place every day and is an important part of school life. Our worship is inclusive and gives all of the school community the chance to be part of the experience, while respecting the integrity of family and cultural backgrounds.
The weekly pattern of collective worship
Monday –Whole school worship, introducing the focus of the week
Tuesday - Class worship linked to the week's theme
Wednesday – Pupil Worship Team /visitors
Thursday – Class worship
Friday – Whole school Celebration Worship
We also celebrate Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas and Easter. Revd Jax regularly leads worship and supports the wonderful work of our Pupil Worship Teams.
Pupil Worship Teams
Children from Years 4, 5 and 6 have an opportunity to plan, practise and perform pupil-led collective worship for the whole school. They work hard to include everyone in their services and research Bible stories and readings to help develop understanding of the school Christian Values. The Pupil Worship Teams also monitor the values of the term by carrying out evaluations in all year groups.
Our School Prayer
This is our school
Let peace live here
Let the rooms be full of happiness
Let love be all around
Love of one another
Love of planet Earth, our home.
Love of God
Let us remember, that as many hands build a house
So many hearts make a school
Amen
To find out more about our amazing activities as a church school, please look at our Pupil Worship Team's publications, 'The Herald' and the 'Worship Times' magazines (see below).