Collective Worship

Collective Worship at St Stephen’s is an integral part of everyday school life. It provides an opportunity for staff, pupils, Governors and visitors to come together to express joy and thankfulness, to share concerns and experiences and to affirm and develop the beliefs and values of the school community and the Christian Church.

Daily worship follows a rhythm of important consistencies which include: suitably chosen music, lighting our candle, sharing our Core Values, establishing our theological underpinning, readings from the Bible or other relevant literature including that from other faiths and offering opportunities for prayer and/or reflection.

A typical week of Collective Worship at St Stephen’s looks like this:

Other elements used may include music, drama, mime, artefacts or listening to stories.

Any notices are clearly separated from the act of worship.

In addition to the weekly programme, the main festivals of Harvest, Christmas and Easter are marked with special services, held at St Stephen’s church. The church is also the venue for our annual leavers’ service in July.

Throughout the academic year we also lead Arts Week, Book Week and Sports Week themed collective worships. Furthermore, we welcome a broad range of contributions from organisations and individuals.

We deliver Worship that is inclusive, invitational and inspiring:

Inclusive: We ensure that content is relevant to the children, their interests and current events. It is also inclusive of all faiths and non-faiths. We plan for Worship to be delivered by people from within and beyond the school community. It is important that our approach encourages our pupils to think, ask questions, consider, contribute and critically reflect. Our Collective Worship provides the opportunity to engage whilst allowing the freedom of those of different faiths and those who profess no religious faith to be present and to engage with integrity.

Invitational: Collective Worship at St Stephen’s has always provided plenty of child-led opportunities including pupil-led collective worship, pupil-led prayer/reflection and lots of opportunities for pupil contributions. Members of our local church community contribute to our daily worship on a weekly basis (2by2 from Widcombe Baptist Church) and we welcome visitors from our local and wider community.  

Inspiring:  Worship is informed by our Vision and Values; it empowers and encourages children to have the freedom and agency to respond beyond the Collective Worship session. Our programme of Collective Worship aims to motivate pupils and adults into action, into thinking differently, and into reflecting on their and the wider community’s behaviour and actions.

For more detailed information on Collective Worship please see our Collective Worship Policy.