Spirituality at Rowsley C of E Primary School

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," Galatians 5:22

Why do we explore spirituality at Rowsley C of E Primary School?

Spirituality is central to our being. We may experience and express our spirituality in different ways, but we are all spiritual in some way. At Rowsley C of E Primary School, we have a duty of care to do all we can to help children develop spiritually.

Schools are required to develop children’s spirituality as part of the curriculum requirements in all parts of the UK. Exploring our spirituality development can make a positive contribution to our individual wellbeing and the wellbeing of the whole school community.

Exploring spirituality offers a unique opportunity to reflect on our school life and how and why we do it. It can help us be more intuitive and sensitive. It can connect us more deeply to nature and our precious planet. It allows us to become aware of the things we have in common despite our differences.

What is spirituality?

The concept of ‘spirituality’ is subjective. However, in David Holmes’ article 'Exploring Spirituality in the Primary school', he suggests the main elements of spirituality are:

The concept of spirituality can be found in all faiths and cultures.

It is the essence of life that lies within all people.

It is a fundamental divine power woven into the values and beliefs of a faith.

It is a focus on ourselves and the world in which we live.

It is a way of giving meaning to life.

Spirituality is an understanding that ‘there is more to life than this’.

It affects the way in which we think about, understand and respond to what we experience.

What does Spirituality look like at Rowsley C of E Primary School?

We believe that our children’s spirituality needs nurturing and that we need to support and help children’s spirituality develop. 

The 'Appropriate Opportunities' to capture a moment of spirituality can be encouraged and nurtured, but often the best experiences come from incidental moments of clarity or vision.  We follow up moments such as this, that might be in lessons, but also can be at break times, special events, conversations from external experiences and very often from and in places that are the most unexpected.  

The Impact of Spirituality

At Rowsley, we believe that by giving the children regular opportunities to develop their sense of spirituality leads to the children becoming more

Creative, patient, tenacious, honest, caring, compassionate, calm, positive, joyful