At Shrivenham, all aspects of school life reflect a Christian ethos, which enables and encourages all children to grow and flourish spiritually. We believe that it is very important to provide all children with a range of opportunities to help them to develop spiritually, but we recognise that spiritual development may not be synonymous with Religious Education and Collective Worship and can also be explored through other aspects of the curriculum.
Spirituality enhances who we are, and our understanding of self. It supports the development of successful relationships, and shapes our behaviour and outlook on our personal experiences, life, others, the world and beyond. Spiritual development also relates to how we acquire insight into our personal experiences.
Spirituality is not taught, but is interwoven into all aspects of school life and is nurtured and promoted as an intrinsic aspect of our curriculum.
At Shrivenham, we define spirituality as:
not something that we can see but something that we can feel inside ourselves. It is a journey which enables us to become aware of ourselves, one another, the world around us and beyond. Through spiritual development, we are able to understand our own feelings and emotions and this enables us to reflect, to learn and to grow. We become aware of the world in new ways; to wonder about things that are amazing in life and think about those things in life which take us by surprise too! Through this, we are learning about life in all its fullness.
Spiritual development aims to support:
Self - encouraging us to look inside ourselves, developing self-awareness, confidence, sense of worth, an understanding and application of personal values and beliefs, the ability to handle feelings and personal creativity
Relationship with others - developing openness and awareness to differences, empathy and the individual’s awareness of our place within the wider group and community.
Relationship to the World & Universe - developing a sense of wonder and awe, appreciation of the beauty and variety of nature and our inheritance through various cultures.
Connection with Beyond/God - developing a connection to something bigger than ourselves
We give opportunities to respond to all of this; by moving onto a new path or situation, to do something creative to develop and apply our ideas and to learn to live out our beliefs and our school Christian values.
Children’s spiritual development is fostered through all aspects of our provision. It is about the relationships and the values that we consider to be important, as well as the development of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes. We give children opportunities to: