Collective worship is often referred to as the beating heart of a church school as it offers a wonderful opportunity for all members of the community to meet together, explore issues together, think through questions together, and respond to others and, for some, to God.
All Church of England schools should be committed to offering high quality collective worship, recognising and valuing collective worship as central to fostering a sense of community and to expressing the school’s Christian vision.
Collective worship in schools is grounded in the historical past and enshrined in educational law to be ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’. In church schools, this also includes the requirement to reflect the Anglican status of the school as expressed in its trust deed. This liberates those leading collective worship to build on the rich, lived diversity of Anglican tradition and identity. Understanding and reflecting Anglican liturgy is key to this and the education team have developed a range of resources to support schools using liturgy.
Collective worship in our family of schools should be inclusive, invitational and inspiring.
Schools should also intentionally ensure that Collective Worship enables pupils and adults to flourish spiritually. (SIAMS 2023 – IQ3)
If you have any specific questions around collective worship, please contact Debbie Helme, Principal Advisor for School Christian Character.
Church of England Collective Worship Guidance
The following documents are intended as support and information for collective worship leaders.
Explore Collective Worship Series
For ideas for getting to grips with Anglican Liturgy and ready to go collective worship ideas on unusual themes, look at the following resources published by Jumping Fish, our very own publishing arm.
Explore The Language of Spirituality in Collective Worship
There is various training support available for collective worship:
Bespoke In-School MOTs
Collective Worship MOTs are an exploration and discussion of worship within the school and include discussion, identifying gaps and suggesting ideas for improvement. It will particularly focus on exploring the ways in which collective worship is an expression of the school’s Christian vision and consider how the school is helping pupils and adults to flourish.
To request this training please enter the details in the attached request form. A member of the team will be in touch with you within 10 working days after receipt of the form.
To make specific in school training requests from our menu of options, please enter the details in the attached request form. A member of the team will be in touch with you within 10 working days after receipt of the form.
In School Training Request Form – Click here
Collective Worship and the new SIAMS framework
For Headteachers, school leaders, clergy, governors. This course has been designed to answer many of the questions raised about collective worship in the new SIAMS framework, such as: How is collective worship in your school enabling pupils and adults to flourish spiritually? How does your theologically rooted Christian vision and the Anglican foundation shape the worship and spirituality in your school? In what ways is the worship life of your school inclusive, invitational, and inspirational? In the context of your Church school, what do pupils and adults understand to be the meaning of spirituality? How does this enhance and enrich collective worship and individuals’ spiritual development? Includes lunch
Wednesday 6 March 2024 10.00am -2.30pm
Venue: Holiday Inn, Crest Way, Barnwood, Gloucester, GL4 3RX
Booking deadline: Wednesday 21 February 2024
Cost: £95.00
Book in here
