‘Inspiring and Growing
for Fullness of Life’

Spiritual Wheel

‘Inspiring and Growing for Fullness of Life’ is at the heart of St James’ C of E Primary and is fundamental to our curriculum, teaching and learning and leadership of the school.

Our children are all individual and unique; they have all been and are going on a different journey but our mission is to ensure that we develop the whole child, so that they can live life to the fullest.

Spiritual growth, explained through our ’Spiritual Wheel’ is at the heart of ‘Inspiring and Growing for Fullness of Life’.

By living out our Christian values and developing our: worship, curriculum, school environment, how we interact with ourselves, others and a divine being through stillness, creativity, curiosity and big questions we will enable our pupils to leave their St James’ family with a greater sense of empathy, sense of identity and purpose, show wisdom and be able to take a challenge.

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Collective Worship & Spirituality

Church School Distinctiveness The Church of England sees its church schools “as being at the centre of its mission to the nation”. Every church school, therefore, will have the support of the clergy and foundation governors in their local parish who will work in partnership with the Headteacher and staff to develop and promote the school’s Christian foundation.

Every school is different as is every church school. We are a church school because we are linked very closely to St. Philip and St. James’ Church and the community involved with the Church. However, our school welcomes children from all faiths and those of none.

Church schools with their distinctiveness were primarily founded to provide education for children in local communities, regardless of personal faith. They continue to be inclusive schools and rationale lies in offering children and young people an opportunity to experience the meaning of Christian faith (Dearing 3.9).

To provide an education of choice that allows learners to critically explore issues of faith, belief and God.
To encourage those of Christian faith, of other faiths and of no faith to engage with what it is to be human.
To provide an education of excellence rooted in Christian values.
To give an understanding of the Christian faith and the customs and practice of the Anglican Church.

At our school we experience faith through:

Having a daily act of collective worship as opposed to assembly. During worship we read stories. Sometimes these stories are from the Bible, sometimes they are from other faiths or they are simply stories that help us explore a value or a moral. In worship we sing songs and hymns; many of which parents / carers sang when they were little and some of which are new or written more recently. During worship we also have the opportunity for reflection and quiet thought during moments of stillness.

Having a school prayer Our prayer is very important to us and we all enjoy saying our prayer together. Some of us hope that with lots of voices saying the prayer together it will travel far and be heard by many. Some children choose not to say all of our prayer or change the words slightly so that it fits in with their own faith or thoughts. In some ways this makes it more special as it is meaningful to everyone!

Being part of our church We are linked very closely with St. Philip and St. James’ (known as Pip and Jims’) Church. We go to the church for lots of visits and events (Harvest, Christmas, Easter, and Community Services) and as part of our RE work.

Having a well designed RE (Religious Education) Curriculum

Our RE Curriculum (Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus) has been carefully designed to teach about a range of faiths including Christianity. RE is a core subject and is taught from Reception to Year 6.

Spending time with the Pip and Jims' vicar and our 'God's Big Story' Team

When a new vicar is appointed for September 2024 we will enjoy worshiping with them at the church. We introduce our terms value at a special worship at the church led by the vicar.

Our 'Gods Big Story' team are members of the church who lead worship in school every other Tuesday. They read Bible stories linked to our terms value.

Many of our school families go to the church and attend the Sunday Family Service.

Creating a time and place for spiritual reflection

We have a special Reflection area in our school library, a space for quiet reflection in our busy fun school.

Spiritual development is the development of the non-material element of a human being which animates and sustains us and, depending on our point of view; either ends or continues in some form when we die. It is about the development of a sense of identity, self-worth, personal insight, meaning and purpose. It is about the development of a pupil’s ‘spirit’. Some people may call it the development of a pupil’s ‘soul’; others as the development of ‘personality’ or ‘character’.

Celebrating

We love celebrating and find every possible reason to do so. Every Friday we have an 'Inspire and Grow' celebration worship and at the end of each term, pupils are chosen to receive or special Values award. Our celebration worship is led by our Year 2 and Year 6 pupils.

At St. James’ CE Primary school we have a very strong relationship with local clergy and the local worshipping community. We seek to promote shared values based on Christian teaching throughout the school life so that children come to make behavioural choices based on Christian values. We ensure our worship and prayer life is deeply engaging and provides children the opportunity to be closer to God. We ensure Religious Education and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are very strong features of the school as they help children understand the faith of others and the importance of listening and reflection as key parts of the faith journey.