Collective Worship
Collective worship reflects the deep Christian roots of the school and is central to this vibrant worshipping community. Invitational prayer, opportunities for reflection and joyful singing contribute to pupils and adults spiritual flourishing.
SIAMS Report, 2024
At Eye C of E Primary School, Collective Worship takes place daily and is an important part of our school day. We follow the church calendar and base the foci of our collective worships on these seasons. We display the appropriate coloured cloth in line with the time of year within the church calendar. We use a range of materials to support our collective worship. Whilst our local church, St Matthew's, is waiting for a new vicar to be appointed, we are fortunate to be joined by a range of visitors, who are ministers, pastors and leaders in local churches and Christian organisations, to lead one our Collective Worships each week. Our collective worships also focus on themes that allow us to engage with our GROW standards (Gratitude, Respect, Ownership and Wisdom) as well as our Christian Values (Community, Thankfulness, Peace, Compassion, Forgiveness, Service, Justice). We also learn about and celebrate events in the church calendar (e.g. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost etc.)
Each time of worship is rooted in biblical teaching and allows children to learn, reflect and respond. Our collective worship follow the structure of windows (learning), mirrors (reflecting) and doors (applying, sending and 'living it out').
We aim for collective worship to be creative and leaders plan to use story, drama, poetry, illustrations, music etc. Each time of collective worship begins with the lighting of our three candles which represent the trinity and a time of prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is also said. We encourage a range of worship leaders including teachers, pupils and external visitors.
Daily collective worship offers a time of reflection and prayer where children and adults are able to respond as they wish and are prompted to consider how worship impacts their lives. This is facilitated through the ‘Doors’ element of worship. Whole school and class worship spaces provide quiet areas for children and staff to reflect and talk to God.
Our Collective Worship Timetable
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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Visitor Led Collective Worship |
Singing Collective Worship |
GROW standards and Christian Values Collective Worship |
Class Worship Based on ‘Big Questions’ and prayer spaces
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GROW Celebration Collective Worship led by Mrs Bright, Miss Stafford and Mr Webster
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Church Services
Throughout the year we are able to join in worship at St Matthew's church in our village of Eye. We join together with members of St Matthew's, parents, teachers and pupils to celebrate significant times of year such as Harvest, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost as well as celebrating the end of the school year.
March 2024- Easter Service
Once again, the whole school visited St Matthew’s Church for our Easter services. We had been journeying through the Easter story in our collective worships over the weeks leading up to the end of term and it was wonderful to share the final part of the story and celebrate the good new of Jesus rising from the dead. The Year 3 classes shared a poem ‘The Story of Easter’ with excellent clarity and expression and some children in Year 1 shared some beautiful prayers that they had written. Reverend Ann challenged us to share the hope and the joy of the Easter story with others. We’re grateful for the parents and carers of year 3 children for joining us for the service.
December 2023- Christmas Service
We were pleased to be able to enjoy our Christmas church services at St Matthew's. Year 4 shared the poem 'Twas the Night Before Jesus' Birth' and church ambassadors read lovely prayers that they had written. Reverend Ann spoke to us about the verse 'for God so loved the world’. She reminded us that the world means everyone and that even those who visited the infant Jesus were not Christians. She also spoke to us about our call as people to share God's love and grow his kingdom. We're grateful to the parents and carers of the year 4 children for joining us for the services.
October 2023 Harvest Service
Due to torrential rain, we were unable to make our journey down to St Matthew's for our Harvest service. However, we were grateful to be able to continue with our planned service and celebrate harvest together in our school hall to finish off our half term. Mrs Bright spoke with the children about the parable of the talents and we thought about all that God has given us and how we can be grateful for these things. Many Reception parents joined us to enjoy the Reception children's song contribution to the service and year 3 and 5 also did an excellent job of sharing poems and prayers.
To watch any of our previous virtual church services in full please click on the link below.