Spiritual Development
As a church school we are concerned with the development of people’s mind, body and soul. We believe that spirituality should influence all areas of education and life, therefore we aim that all areas of the curriculum contribute to pupils’ spiritual development. Spiritual development relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life which affect everyone, and is not dependent on a religious affiliation.
Spiritual development is not about becoming more spiritual, it is about realising or becoming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality. This is sometimes a slow and gradual process, at other times there might be significant stages of realisation, which are part of the ongoing ‘developing’ process. People don’t reach a finished state of spiritual development, but participate in the ongoing process of spiritual realisation.
We use the 'Windows, Mirrors and Doors' model to provide children with openings for spiritual development:
WINDOWS: giving children opportunities to become aware of the world in new ways; to wonder about life’s ‘WOWs’ (things that are amazing) and ‘OWs’ (things that are sad or hurtful). In this, children are learning about ‘life in all its fullness.'
MIRRORS: giving children opportunities to reflect on their experiences; to meditate on life’s big questions and to consider some possible answers. In this they are learning from life by exploring their own insights and perspectives and those of others.
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DOORS: giving children opportunities to respond to their experiences; to do something creative as a means of expressing, applying and further developing their thoughts and convictions. In this they are learning to live by putting into action what they are coming to believe and value.
We seek to provide experiences to suit all spiritual styles – word, symbol, emotion and action. These experiences encourage children and adults to develop an understanding of the spiritual character of themselves and others. As well as planned opportunities, such as collective worship, vision and values activities, use of our reflection space and those designed to inspire awe and wonder in our curriculum, we also encourage children to pause and reflect on unexpected and unplanned experiences as well. These moments are often a powerful vehicle for children in they develop a greater spiritual awareness.
Our Reflection Space
We are in the process of developing our Reflection Space in our school, for children to think, reflect, pray or just be still.
