Collective Worship at Collingham Lady Elizabeth Hastings' C of E (VA) Primary School predominantly reflects the faith and traditions of the Church of England.
 
Worship is the coming together of the school or groups within the school to acknowledge and praise God, develop community spirit, promote a common ethos and reinforce positive attitudes. Collective Worship, in our school, is a responsive act.

Aims
Our Collective Worship aims to provide the opportunity for children, staff and visitors to:

• Praise and worship God
• Experience prayer and reflection
• Consider spiritual and moral issues
• Explore their own beliefs
• Participate and respond, whether through active involvement in the presentation of Worship or through listening to and joining in Worship
• Foster a sense of fellowship

Objectives
Worship has important elements which enable our children to be involved in:

• Offering
• Praise
• Being sorry
• Being thankful
• Asking and hoping
• Being still and wondering
• Sharing
• Reflection & prayer

We also aim to meet some of the objectives from our whole school curriculum drivers including:

• To learn about current affairs in the world and how we can learn from them. 
• To identify God's work in action.
• To learn about Global Christianity.
• To make connections between what we can see and what we can do about it.
• To ask 'big questions' about life, religion nature and science and area other areas of fascination.
• To ask philosophical questions and reflect upon these with an open mind.

Collective Worship, in our school is:

• Educational
• Has a sense of occasion
• Has meaning and value
• Helping children develop a sense of awe and wonder at the world around them
• Offering children a spiritual dimension to their lives and personal relationships
• Providing regular opportunities for reflection to enable our children to move from what is an immediate but passing concern to the broader and more lasting concerns of life
• Providing opportunities for thanksgiving, to enjoy the unity which derives from sharing love, joy, hope, friendship, acceptance, anguish, fear and forgiveness
• Developing an awareness that the needs and desires of the individual must sometimes be sacrificed in the interest of the majority
• Developing an awareness of and a concern for the needs of others as well as personal needs
• Providing time to share with those around us the things we have been doing, our thoughts and our ideas
• Helping children to develop common standards and values such as self-discipline and respect for others
• Giving children experience of being active members of an inclusive caring community by fostering an atmosphere of love, security and kindness
• Providing opportunities to celebrate achievements and special celebrations
• Focusing on local and national events so an informed response is possible

Collective Worship and our curriculum
Collective Worship is a discrete but integral part of our curriculum.  It can be used as a stimulus for the start of a piece of work or as an arena for sharing work done with others.  
 
Organisation
Each child, in our school, participates in a daily act of Collective Worship. Our weekly timetable of Worship may be altered occasionally depending on particular needs or organisational issues.  However, the current pattern is as follows:
 

We welcome visitors who are also invited to lead Collective Worship.

Occasionally the act of Collective Worship is held elsewhere, for example, our Christmas carol services and Easter services are held at St Oswald's Church.
 
Planning
Our planning for Collective Worship follows the 'Roots and Fruits' scheme that supports each of the twelve strands of our school RESPECT code.  We produce a termly overview incorporating themes based on the Anglican calendar, the RESPECT code and current school events which informs planning for worship. Planning demonstrates progression and continuity, enhancing other curriculum areas and classroom activities.

Worship may relate to a local, national or international event so we allow flexibility in planning to support the inclusion of important issues or current events.  A series of weekly acts of worship may relate to a particular theme and can be planned a term or half term in advance.  The subject matter might also relate to the church’s calendar, to significant occasions for other world faiths or to events in our school and community calendar. Class led presentations may relate to current learning being undertaken.

Children are encouraged to lead their own acts of Collective Worship for the whole school. On these occasions, small groups of upper Key Stage 2 children plan and lead the entire act of Collective Worship following the 'Roots and Fruits' scheme.
 
Children from other Faiths
One of our aims at Collingham Lady Hastings is to prepare children to live in a multi-faith society and we willingly accept children from the Christian faith, other faiths or none. Teaching about other faiths is compatible with the principles of the Church of England and in keeping with the ecumenical and global vision of the Anglican Church.
 
We also create opportunities for worship to be led by a leader from an alternative faith community, appropriate stories from other faiths are used in worship and respect is developed for the values, beliefs and integrity of all faiths.  All acts of Collective Worship are as inclusive as possible without compromising the integrity of the principles and practices of the Church of England.
 
Right of Withdrawal
The school prospectus informs parents of the right to withdraw their children from acts of Collective Worship and Religious Education. However, it also highlights the fact that Collingham is an Aided School and RE and Worship form an integral part of the ethos and curriculum.
 
Evaluation
A group of children, foundation governors, the HT and RE coordinator participate in termly Foundation committee meetings with a focus on evaluation and development of RE and Worship. Key points from this are fed back to staff and governors to inform future development. This is a key aspect of school self-evaluation in this area. Foundation governors are invited to worship celebrations at key points of the Anglican year as well as an open invitation to daily acts of Worship.   

The school complies with the legal requirement to ensure that children take part in Collective Worship each day. The only exceptions are those children withdrawn by their parents.