Children's spiritual development

As I write this article, it is the end of December, even though you will be reading it in February! Christmas has just ended and we are in the slightly strange ‘tween’ time following Christmas but before New Year.

Relationship with the local church

With the last half-term being filled with seasonal festivities, I have reflected on how many celebrations took place in collaboration with our local church, St. Michael’s, and were supported by Rev Gerry Burgess who supports the school spiritually. Rev Gerry is a popular figure with children and we see her every week when we visit St. Michael’s for Collective Worship on Tuesdays.

As a Church of England school that cherishes its relationship with the local church, many parents/carers ask me about whether our school is purely Christianity-focused. I thought it would be good to share my answer with the wider community to give people an understanding of our vision for the spiritual development of children in the diverse and multicultural society we live in.

Understanding and exploring various religions

Like all schools, we have a statutory duty to reflect ‘that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian..." (Education Act 1996). Christianity is integral to our school life is and we aim to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of its core beliefs. However, we also focus on beliefs of other major world religions so children can explore faith and belief systems to develop their own point of view. Our vision is for our children to leave our school equipped to live in our diverse, multicultural world as open-minded individuals with respectful attitudes to everyone, regardless of their belief. We are proud to be able to give children opportunities to explore their own spirituality or beliefs and develop a relationship with the local church to be part of Christian traditions, like Christmas and Easter. Long may we celebrate the many faiths and beliefs that we are free to have!

Mrs

Lizzie

Martin, Executive Headteacher, Arun Villages Federation amberley.w-sussex.sch.uk