At Theale C of E Primary School, Christian values and teachings underpin all that we do. The children have the opportunity to be involved in prayer and worship every day. Collective Worship engages all members of our school community in Anglican traditions and practices. It also offers opportunities to: come together as a community; be still and reflect; give thanks and praise; and develop deeper spiritual awareness. Our worship is inclusive and invitational and can be enjoyed by children of all faiths and of no faith.
We provide variety in worship through setting, content and leadership. The typical weekly pattern of Collective Worship is as follows:
On Mondays, we all come together in the hall to celebrate good news - with children being recognised for the efforts and achievements within school and an opportunity to share achievements from outside of school - and Mrs Morley leads Worship through Music.
On Tuesdays, Martin Davy, Rector at Holy Trinity Church, Theale joins us all in the hall to lead worship and help us further understand the message of God.
On Wednesdays, Mrs Bradbury tells the whole school stories from the God's Storyteller programme. Over the course of each term, the stories help us to focus on certain parts of the Bible or themes from across the Bible.
On Thursdays and Fridays, worship is held in class, focussing on: reflection themes from our God's Storyteller programme; social justice; courageous advocacy; and wellbeing using the ODBE Space Makers programme.
We visit Holy Trinity church for special services such as Harvest, Remembrance and Easter. Our Nativities and Christmas services are often held at special locations and a donkey visits us to bring the Christmas story to life. Other significant dates in the calendar, such as Epiphany, Candlemas, Ash Wednesday and Pentecost are celebrated in whole-school worship and we link parts of our learning to our worship at these special times.
We pray throughout the day, particularly before lunch and at the end of the day: these prayers are often led by children. Each class has a reflection area where the children can write or say their own prayers. Many children take this idea back to their families and have been inspired to set up their own reflection areas at home.