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COLLECTIVE WORSHIP POLICY Aims To promote students’ spiritual, moral and cultural development. To provide the opportunity for students to:
others
Statutory Duty of the School All maintained schools must provide daily collective worship for all registered pupils (apart from those who have been withdrawn by their parents). This is usually provided within a daily assembly. The Headteacher is responsible (under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998) for arranging daily collective worship after consulting with the Governing Body. Daily collective worship must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character. The precise nature will depend on the family background, ages and abilities of the pupils. Collective worship can take place at any time in the school day and the whole school does not need to gather together at the same time. It can be organised in form groups, year groups or whatever groupings are appropriate for the school. Implementation Collective worship, whether delivered through an assembly or during tutor time, will:
Organisation Collective worship will be delivered either through an assembly or during tutor time when it will be delivered through an organised Thought for the Day. Every effort will be made to ensure that all pupils attend those assemblies scheduled for their year group. There are times when this is not possible (for example when pupils are sitting examinations or are on residential visits). There may also be occasions when pupils miss assemblies because teachers need to discuss work and progress or other pastoral issues, or provide extra help. School assemblies will be organised as follows:
Assembly Content There is no pre-determined plan for the content of assemblies. This is to allow for those leading assembly to be able to make their assemblies topical, reflect their individual enthusiasms, or to reflect a need for a particular social or moral issue to be dealt with. Form Assemblies Once a year, each form group is required to prepare and deliver an assembly to their peers. This should comply with the Collective Worship Policy and the theme should be chosen from the suggested list of topics. Tutor Time and Collective Worship When forms are not in assembly, tutors should ensure that a Thought for the Day is presented. Ideally, students in the form should organise this on a rota basis with appropriate guidance from the form tutor and/or form prefect. The Thought for the Day booklet has a useful series of resources particularly for Years 7-9 and these could form the basis of a programme throughout the years. In Years 10-13 students should take the lead in giving a short Thought for the Day. This presents an opportunity for students to explore their own spiritual development and reflect on their own experiences, through art, music, literature, drama or the natural world. Record Keeping It is the responsibility of one of the school’s Departmental Assistants to gather and record information regarding the content and effectiveness of all assemblies. This record enables subsequent leaders to avoid duplication and to follow up topics previously dealt with. The Right of Parents to Withdraw their Child Parents have a right to withdraw their children from Religious Education (RE) and collective worship. If a parent asks for their child to be wholly or partly excused from attending any RE or collective worship at the school, the school must comply unless the request is withdrawn. A school remains responsible for the supervision of any child withdrawn from RE or collective worship, unless the child is lawfully receiving RE or taking part in collective worship elsewhere. Parents do not need to explain their reasons for seeking withdrawal. The DCSF recommends that, to avoid misunderstanding, a Headteacher may wish to clarify with any parent wanting to withdraw:
Teachers Teachers are not required to lead collective worship but are expected to attend assemblies and to sit with and supervise their form during assemblies. Staff who feel able to volunteer to lead collective worship are much appreciated as this provides a varied diet and different perspectives for the pupils. Form Tutor support for the preparation and delivery of Form Assemblies is also highly valued. Monitoring, Evaluation and Review The school will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the school. PROCEDURES: GENERAL Pastoral Leaders assist in management of assemblies when their year is in assembly. There should be silence after the Assembly Bell has been rung. Prompt arrival is important. Girls go to the Hall in pairs, in silence, accompanied by Form Tutors and remain in silence in the Hall. Prefects wait in silence in the Entrance Hall. After Assembly, girls dismiss from the Hall in pairs and remain silent until they have cleared the Entrance Hall area. Staff need to ensure that girls come promptly to assembly. Meetings should not be called at the end of assembly. Form Tutors go back to Form Rooms with the girls and remain with them until the next bell rings. Registers are returned before Assembly. All members of the Teaching Staff are expected to attend Assembly, Form Tutors should sit with their forms along the sides of the Hall. Notices to be read out in Assembly should be written clearly, signed dated and placed in the basket by the Head’s door. Form Assembly Topics
The form leading assembly should prepare it, in conjunction with their Form Tutor. Please check that the assembly complies with legal requirements of collective worship. Form Tutors please see Deputy Head in advance for form assembly to confirm assembly topic. The form is also expected to arrange the music. The hymn should be accompanied by a member (or members) of the form. Girls should ask, in advance, a sixth former, or other older pupil, to play if for any reason they cannot provide musicians from within the form. A copy of the Hymn Book music is available from music staff. Books should be returned on the day of the assembly. Pianists should make sure that they allow enough time to practise the hymn beforehand. Music staff recommend that the pianist take home a copy of the chosen hymn about two or three weeks before the date of the assembly, and that they practise it for about 10 minutes at a time every day. They should also make time to try it out on the appropriate school piano, as this can feel very different from the instrument on which regular practice at home is done. KS3 Assembly Themes for Citizenship: for staff presenting assembly in summer term The work of community based, national or international voluntary groups. The diversity of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK and the need for mutual respect and understanding. The significance of the media in society. The work of the European Union. The Commonwealth. The United Nations. Global politics. Global economics; international finance, exchange rates, the arms trade, third world debt. Global environmental issues; species extinction, deforestation, global warming, GM crops. Global social problems, population growth, poverty, world hunger. Curriculum Leader for PSHCE will need to give guidance on areas to be covered. Resources for assemblies Books are available in the staff section in the library. RS department also has material for assemblies. Useful website: www.assemblies.org
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