Collective Worship

RE Curriculum

Children led a special Harvest Praise on Sunday 5th October 2024

Reverend Rachel was extremely proud "I can't tell you what a joy and gift it was to see everyone singing together intergenerationally - and how it inspired the congregation, and me personally. The children did so well and I hope they feel really proud of all they gave."

Our Christingle Service at St. Bartholomew's Church

Special Visitor attends our Collective Worship

Our School's Ethos Statement

Recognising its historic foundation, at Barnabas Oley we believe it is important to preserve and develop its religious character and establish a set of core values in which to live. Within a caring, Christian ethos the school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.

Collective Worship

Collective worship is a central and highly values part of our school day; we meet as a whole school every morning. The sessions are led by different members of staff each day and a well-planned timetable allows timely coverage of the Christian calendar.

Monday	Headteacher's Assembly - introducing the theme for the week linked to Bible teaching.
Tuesday	Deputy Headteacher's Assembly - Bible stories
Wednesday	Festivals and Memorable Days Assembly - Advent, Christmas, Lent, Saint's days, Holy days etc
Thursday	Singing Assembly (sung worship) - time to learn new songs to sing in our assemblies.
Friday	Celebration Assembly - awards presented including Star of the Week, individual awards and the House point half-termly competition is up-dated.

"I like assemblies because we sing everyday!" - Year 1 pupil

Collective worship gives the whole school community the opportunity to:

Engage in an act of community
Express praise and thanksgiving to God
Reflect on the character of God and on the teachings of Christ through Biblical texts
Affirm Christian values and attitudes
Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar
Experience and respond to Anglican traditions and practices
Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events
Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness
Be still and reflect
Share each other’s joys and challenges

"I know that if I think about some of the things I have learnt in collective worship, I can make better choices" - Year 6 pupil

For every collective worship session, children are encouraged to enter the hall quietly, preparing themselves for worship. A song or hymn is sung and the theme for that day's assembly is presented. There follows an opportunity for reflection and prayer. During collective worship there are opportunities for the pupils to be inspired by stories of Christians who have made a difference in the world or real-life miracles. Our aim is to inspire the children to take action or do things differently. We provide opportunities for the whole school community to relate and apply the stories, verses or teachings from the Bible into their own life and allow children to think and reflect on big questions and issues.

We often have visitors from GenR8 and acTios and our church Reverend regularly joins our collective worship, We also have special guests, such as the Watoto Choir, who provide real-life examples of how Christians worship and celebrate around the world. In addition, we celebrate annual key events such as World Peace Day, and Children in Need day.

Children enjoy and are actively involved in all aspects of collective worship including being given the responsibility and ownership of planning and leading worship.