At Ketton we value our distinctive Christian Vision as a core strand to who we are and everything we do.  

'Success for all' runs through the heart of our work and we strive for success for all pupils, all staff and all of our school community.  

Our Christian Values are the vehicle to help all children understand how to live a positive and fulfilling life.  

"Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be

opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7

Collective Worship at Ketton Primary School

"Success for all"

Our Christian Foundation

Christian values and practice are at the heart of our shared life as a Church of England School and they shape an enquiring and respectful approach to everything around us. We have strong links with our two local churches who contribute regularly to our school programmes and we seek to learn about and from other faith-traditions in today’s world.

We are a Church of England School and our worship reflects the spirit of its Anglican Christian foundation. In our worship we try to facilitate and enable people of different beliefs, age and ability and family background to share their insights and commitments with one another in an educational context within the Christian ethos.

Our approach is consistent with the general ethos of the school, and our philosophies as expressed in our vision and aims. It is also consistent with the policy statement of the Peterborough Diocesan Board of Education:

“It {the school} should offer valuable experiences of worship which encourage children to seek to continue and develop personal worship in the wider Church family. The incumbent and people of the Local Church should be frequent and welcome visitors, and in the same way, the children should be welcomed regularly to the church building and to participate in Church Life. A Church School should seek to function as a clear reflection in the world of the values, relationships and compassion offered in the Kingdom of God”

Thus Collective Worship at our school is in accordance with the principles and practice of the Church of England.

The vision of the Peterborough Diocesan Board of Education is for “Christian Education – excelling in quality, distinctive in sharing God's love.”

Our teaching is based on this understanding and we see our school serving the needs of all children whatever their background – Christian or non-Christian. Christianity draws its beliefs from the life and example of Jesus Christ. He taught that we should care for all, regardless of creed, race or colour. From this principle, it follows that each pupil matters in the sight of God and the school and its teachers will always care for the needs of the individual.

Our Christian Vision and Values

"Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Our Christian Values are:

• Forgiveness

• Honesty

• Kindness

Our Approach to Collective Worship

Collective Worship is at the heart of our school community. It provides a daily opportunity for pupils and staff to come together to explore our Christian vision and values, reflect, pray, sing and consider events within our school, our community and the wider world.

Our worship is inclusive, invitational and reflective. All children are welcomed and encouraged to participate, while being given opportunities to think, question, wonder and respond in their own way.

We have strong links with our two local churches, who contribute regularly to our school programmes. We also seek to learn about and from other faith traditions in today’s world.

The Purpose, Aims and Objectives of Collective Worship

Purpose

• To contribute to a sense of unity and community for the school as a whole.

• To promote spiritual, cultural, social and moral development.

Aims

• To provide opportunity for an experience of worship.

• To reflect on values and concerns of the school community, the community it serves and the wider community in this country and throughout the world.

• To deepen and widen a child’s emotional response.

• To enable children to gain insights into ways in which people express themselves within their faith commitments and to be sensitive to those different ways of responding.

Objectives

To develop a sense of:

• Awe, wonder and mystery

• Interdependence with the natural world

• Pattern, sequence and order

• Self-worth and value of others

To develop an awareness:

• That life involves choices of belief, attitude, behaviour and relationships.

• That there are issues of meaning, purpose and value in life.

All Collective Worship should be:

• Inclusive

• Educational

• Spiritual

• Contributory to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children

• A special time where children can feel secure and relaxed and share with others to foster a feeling of community

Planning Collective Worship

A Collective Worship overview is produced each term and should be used by all staff leading worship. Each week has a clear focus, usually rooted in one of our Christian Values.

Across the week, children explore this focus through:

• Bible stories and Christian teaching

• Discussion and reflection

• Current local, national and global events

• Spirituality and opportunities for awe and wonder

• Sing and Praise

• Celebration Worship

The termly overview ensures that worship across the school is purposeful, varied and connected.

Our Collective Worship Structure

Anyone leading Collective Worship should use the agreed Collective Worship PowerPoint template. This ensures that children experience a familiar and meaningful structure, regardless of who is leading worship.

1. Greeting
“Good morning…” followed by pupil response.

2. Call to Worship 🕯️
We light this candle for our school,
We light this candle for our friends and family,
We light this candle for the people of the world.
Jesus Christ, Light of the World, shine on us all today. Amen.

3. Core Worship
Linked to the weekly focus, Christian value, Bible story or relevant local/global event. This should provide opportunities for children to think, discuss, wonder and reflect.

4. Reflection & Prayer 🙏
Time for quiet reflection followed by a child-written prayer selected from our Prayer Box.

5. Song 🎵
A song linked to the theme where appropriate.

6. Door Moment – Sending 🚪
“As we leave the hall, let us choose kindness, show forgiveness and live with honesty” Amen.

Pupil Prayer

Prayer is an important part of Collective Worship at Ketton, while remaining invitational and inclusive.

All children are given opportunities to write their own prayers for the whole-school Prayer Box. A prayer from the box may be selected during daily Collective Worship.

Sing and Praise

Sing and Praise gives our school community an opportunity to worship together through music. Children learn and revisit hymns and songs connected to our Christian vision, Christian Values and worship themes.

Sing and Praise is also used to prepare children for termly church services, helping them to participate confidently when worshipping together in church.

Celebration Worship

Celebration Worship takes place each Friday and provides an opportunity to come together joyfully and recognise the achievements and contributions of members of our school community.  This is an opportunity for our children to lead our worship. 

Celebrations may include:

• Star of the Week

• Ketton Challenge

• Sporting achievements and awards

• Cake Raffle

• Other individual or whole-school achievements

• Singing together

Celebration Worship remains rooted in our Christian ethos, recognising and giving thanks for the gifts, talents, efforts and contributions of others.

Church Services and Local Church Links

Throughout the academic year, pupils and staff come together for 6 services at church. These services provide an important opportunity for children to experience worship within a church setting and strengthen the relationship between our school, our two local churches and the wider community.

Our two local churches contribute regularly to our school programmes, and we seek to maintain a welcoming and mutually supportive relationship with the local Church.

Church service details and dates can be found within the Collective Worship overview and school calendar.

What Should Collective Worship Feel Like?

Collective Worship should be a meaningful part of the school day rather than simply another assembly.

It should provide opportunities for children to:

• Gather together as a community.

• Engage with stories, ideas, Christian Values and events.

• Question and wonder about themselves, others and the world.

• Reflect and experience moments of stillness.

• Respond through discussion, prayer, music or personal reflection.

• Take something away, considering how the message might influence their actions.

Above all, Collective Worship at Ketton should provide a space where children can pause, think deeply, encounter Christian teaching and values, develop spiritually and consider how they can make a positive difference to the world around them.