We believe that Religious Education makes a significant contribution to pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education.  

Spiritual development enriches and encourages the pupils’ discovery of God the creator, of their ‘inmost being’ and of the wonder of the environment (see below for more detail).  

Moral development is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, which offer pupils a secure foundation stone on which to make decisions and build their lives. 

Social development enriches pupils’ understanding of what it means to live in a Christian community where Jesus’ command to love one another is put into practice.   

Cultural development provides opportunities to develop an understanding of Christianity as a worldwide, multi-cultural faith that has an impact on the lives of millions of people. 

Spiritual Development 

At St Ann’s Church of England Primary School, spirituality is understood as our relationships with each other and God. It is an act of being fully human and discovering and revealing ourselves through love. Having a shared understanding amongst the community means individuals’ spirituality can be nurtured. This understanding is explored and experienced during collective worship through our Anglican practices. Most typically this includes through the Bible stories that are re-told (including through song), the stillness, prayers and the personal reflections shared. Providing the time and opportunity for children to relive their stories and reflect on why they are valuable to them, allows the children to express an emotional reaction to their personal experiences. The ability to live the emotion again, in the retelling of a significant moment, provides the means for children to move to the land of the spirit. And at the heart of the vast majority of their stories, is love. This is often revealed through four aspects; awareness of self, their relationship with others, a response to the beauty of the natural world and exploration of the beyond. Asking the questions ‘What would Jesus do?’ or ‘Who would Jesus be?’ demands children to consider the nature of our ‘being’ and the values and virtues we are living out. A moment of stillness makes space for just ‘being,’ for noticing and encourages everyone to be present to the self, to others, to the world and to the divine. 

Spiritual development is an intrinsic part of the curriculum in the following ways: 

• Daily act of collective worship designed to nurture everyone’s spiritual development through story, song, prayer, reflection, symbols, natural objects 
• Regular Worship through Song led by Church choir director 
• Half termly pupil led collective worship 
• Weekly RE lessons which offer an opportunity for reflection  
• Half termly church services 
• KS2 Communion services 
• Y5 & 6 Confirmation classes 
• Spontaneous prayer or action in response to personal, local, national and global events e.g. sending cards to the library, get well messages to pupils who are in hospital  
• Regular writing of prayers which are displayed as an outward expression of our love e.g. war in Ukraine, death of Queen Elizabeth II 
• Prayer spaces in every classroom and other central places 
• Awe and wonder moments throughout the curriculum e.g. Literature shared during English lessons, PSHE lessons promoting mindfulness or use of debate, Natural Disasters Geography unit in Y6, growth in Science, study of visual arts in Art & Design 
• Opportunity to visit 14 external places that nurture pupils’ cultural development through our Cultural Offer 
• Focus Weeks, including Stand Up Speak Up week 
• Shared experiences e.g. Jubilee family picnic, STAR day – charity fund raising day, making Christingles  
• Outdoor learning e.g. in woodland 
• Celebrations e.g. talent show, Worship through Praise, school production, birthday cards from school, texts/ emails of praise