Collective Worship

At St Paul's we are educated for life with the love of God and Christian values at the heart of our school. The daily activity of Collective Worship is therefore viewed as an integral and important part of the school day. The nine Fruits of the Spirit are often referred to, as is Jesus' teaching as shown through the Bible. We also hold the learning of other faiths and religious celebrations in high regard, and value what they offer in educating our pupils about our diverse community. We are committed to respecting each other’s faith and culture, showing tolerance and understanding regardless of pupils’ beliefs.

Our collective worship is typically led by Mr Edmonds, Miss Luker and Mr Rylett, the vicar at St Paul's Church. There are times when other members of staff and groups of pupils are involved or lead Collective Worship. 

Assemblies and Collective Worship for Key Stage 1 and 2

Assemblies are very much part of the school day and provide an opportunity to enhance the community life and atmosphere of the school. All teaching staff are expected to attend assemblies when they are available, with the exception of Thursday assembly, which is used for PPA. Thursday assembly is delivered by the SLT and UT Teachers, on a one-in-four rotation basis.

At all times please try to ensure that the children arrive for assemblies promptly and in silence. At the end of the assembly the children are expected to leave the hall in a quiet and orderly manner. If any parent requests that their child be withdrawn, this should be discussed with the Head Teacher.

Although we encourage children to be creatively involved whole class assemblies, there should be clear guidance by the teacher – themes that include Halloween, inappropriate themes and language, fighting or use of weapons are not permitted.

If there is no whole school collective worship, then an act of worship should occur in class instead. It is expected that each class will hold a time of reflection at least once within the school day, which may be in the form a prayer.

Celebration Assembly

Every Friday, the whole school is invited to attend the Celebration Assembly. Two children from each class will be presented with a certificate and merit badge for their good work/behaviour that week. Please ensure that the child’s name and reason for receiving the merit is written on the Google Document by Thursday lunchtime so that the Head Teacher can write out the certificates in good time. Any member of staff can nominate a child for a merit.

What have we been learning about in Collective Worship?

Harvest Festival 2023

We had a tremendous response for our Harvest Service last week. The foodbank at St Peter’s Church, Norbiton were delighted to receive eight full crates of your donations, which will be used to support Kingston Foodbank and the Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness (KCAH). Thank you.

Our Harvest Service will be being held on Wednesday 11th October, in the school hall. (Pupils only). Reception will celebrate Harvest at a different time.

All contributions will be donated via St Paul’s Church to support Kingston Foodbank and the Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness (KCAH). KCAH are unfortunately unable to accept donations of fresh foods or homemade items such as jams or bottled fruit.

Summer 2019

We kicked off our summer collective worships reflecting on the Easter story. 6F shared their learning on the stations of the resurrection. 3R have led collective worship choosing to think about issues affecting our world including the fire in Notre Dame Cathedral, the situation in Sri Lanka and the climate protest. Reception have also led a collective worship on the parable of the sower.

Mr Rylett joined the children’s faith group in the summer term to get their feedback on his sessions with us! Mr Rylett was relieved to hear the children were enjoying his sessions and could recall many of the stories he has shared with the school. The children have also made suggestions of things they might like to see included in collective worships in the future.   

Spring 2019

We have had another busy term and covered many areas in our collective worship sessions.

Mr Rylett has got his guitar out and taught us a new song. He has also continued to journey through key stories in the Old Testament helping us to see the Christian idea of the bible having a ‘big picture’. Some of the stories he has covered include:

We have also found out more about the life of Jesus and some of his parables. The Easter story was also a key part of our collective worship this term.

As well collective worships led by staff, we have also enjoyed collective worships from classes and groups like the eco-captains. Some of the topics chosen by the pupils include:

Our spring collective worships finished with Year 3 taking part in the Easter service. They told the story of Palm Sunday through drama and readings.

Autumn Term 2018

We covered many different themes to help our pupils understand themselves and the world around them. Some of the highlights have included finding out more about our school vision and values, understanding British values, Harvest Festival celebrations in the church and Chrsitmas.

Having said goodbye to Mr Coupland last academic year, we were delighted to welcome Mr Rylett into our school in October. Mr Rylett has quickly become part of our school family; the pupils and staff have enjoyed his involvement in our church services and Collective Worships. He has even taught us all a new song!

Our church services have continued to be an important part of our life here at St Paul's. Year 5 took a leading role in the Harvest Festival, sharing poems and prayers. Through our connection to the church, the school community donated many items to Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness. The St Paul's singers & school orchestra were fabulous during the service as well!

Christmas is always a wonderful time of year at our school. This year we had:

We also shared the learning we did on Christmas theme day, building up a nativity scene on the stage with our artwork.