Collective Worship at St. Mark’s

View St. Mark's Collective Worship Policy

Collective worship plays a central part in the life of St Mark’s CE Primary School. It is a means by which the school’s Christian vision is expressed. Worship is an important part of each school day. Pupils and staff worship together as part of the whole school, key stage or in class. During this time, pupils can reflect upon, discuss and explore the themes and values chosen. Each half term, we focus on one of our school’s values and link our worship to this. We affirm every individual’s unique contribution to worship, regardless of any differences we may have such as age, gender, background or religion.

Whole School Worship

Whole school worship is a time to gather, listen, learn and reflect individually and together as a family. It is central to the life of our school. It contributes to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. In worship, we explore the teachings of the Bible and other faiths and reflect on opportunities to live out these. Pupils develop a respect for and an understanding of Christianity and other religious beliefs. They are able to foster an awareness of the world around them and a sense of their place within it.

Classroom worship

Classroom worship is led by both pupils and staff using the resources developed by Alex Wolvers (Our Ex-officio) linked to our school values. Added to this, Picture News is also used to broaden the pupils’ knowledge of current affairs and help them to think about how they can be advocates for positive change in the world that we live in.

Songs and Praise

Praising God through music is an important form of worship. Whilst singing through faith, we express our love and thanks towards God. Songs are selected each week to further explore our school values and our Christian vision.

Worship Council

Pupils, in Years 4, 5 and 6, are elected by the Pupils in their class to become members of the Worship Council. They play a vital role in the development of worship within our school.

Their responsibilities include:

• Leading worship half termly;
• Meeting regularly to discuss worship and how it can be even better;
• Helping to choose worship songs;
• Promoting the school values to all.

Presentations from worship led by the Worship Council:

Photos from worship led by the Worship Council:

Reflection areas

Every classroom within school has a reflection area, which displays the Bible quote linked to our school value for the half term. During the first classroom worship of the half term, this is shared and questions are posed to challenge Pupil’s thinking and understanding and provides time to reflect on how these impact on their own beliefs. Over the year, these are displayed as a reminder in the school corridor.

These are examples of work shown on reflection areas both inside and outside of the classroom.

Year 4 Reflection Area 2022-2023

Class 4C Reflection Area – Responsibility Autumn 2023:

Pupil reflections from Class 6J’s reflection board – Responsibility Autumn 2023:

Class Assemblies

Each class leads worship by delivering a whole class assembly at some point during the academic year. This is class 5J’s class assembly that took place on the 12th October 2023. This assembly was on Black History Month.

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