Vision and Values

Vision Statement

At Clifford All Saints we are a distinctly Christian school but never exclusively Christian- we are welcoming of all children and families regardless of their faith background.

Our School Values

The Pattern of Collective Worship

At Clifford All Saints, we conduct assemblies in a dignified and respectful manner. We tell children that assembly time is a period of calm reflection. We regard it as a special time and expect children to behave in an appropriate manner. We ask them to be quiet and thoughtful and to listen carefully to the teachings and participate fully in prayer and singing. However, there are also times where collective worship is an opportunity for joy and celebration. We create an appropriate atmosphere by using music and sometimes candles or other objects that act as a focal point for the attention of the children.

Our aim for collective Worship; Inclusive Invitational Inspiring.

Each week there are 5 different acts of collective worship (the order may vary depending on other activities each week):

Church partnerships assemblies (planned and delivered by ministers from our partner churches)
Whole school worship assembly (following our collective worship structure)
Class worship assemblies (planned and delivered by members of the Worship council, following our collective worship structure) alternating every second week with SLT led assembly (linked to topical events, vison and values and using roots and fruits materials).
Class assembly (using primary picture news worship resources to engage with current affairs).
Celebration assembly led by SLT

Inclusive:

Worship involves meeting, exploring, questioning, and responding to others and, for some, to God. I

We want our worship to be inclusive of, and fully accessible to, all.

We recognise that many pupils and staff in our schools will come from homes of different faith backgrounds as well as of no faith background.

We recognise the importance of children asking questions and being at different stages in their faith journey.

We make no assumptions about children’s faith.

We don’t ‘do worship’ we give children opportunities to be involved.

We are inclusive of all members of our Clifford All Saints community.

Invitational:

There is no compulsion to ‘do anything’. Rather, worship should provide the opportunity to engage whilst allowing the freedom of those of different faiths and those who profess no religious faith to be present and to engage with integrity.

We remind our community that pupils and adults should always only be invited to pray if they wish to do so and should be invited to pray in their own way. Prayer should always be accompanied by the option to reflect.

We use music and liturgies in worship to reflect the best of traditional and modern Anglican worship and connect it to wider themes.

Inspiring:

We want children to experience worship that is formational and transformational: it should enable pupils and adults to ask big questions about who we are and why we do what we do.

We want to motivate our pupils and adults to reflect and take action in their community.

Worship should support us to become courageous advocates of important causes.

We want to encourage reflection on faith, beliefs and philosophical convictions.

The structure of our collective worship (See Appendix for guidance and ideas)

Welcome / Gather

Word/ Listen

Worship/ Response

Witness/ Mission

Our School Prayers

Clifford School Prayer

Lord, Bless our School

that working together

and playing together

we may learn to serve you

and to help one another

for Jesus sake.

Amen

Our before lunchtime prayer

Thank you God

For food and prayer

Teach us how to love and share

Amen

Our Friday lunchtime prayer

God is good to me

He gives me lips

To eat my chips

God is good to me

Amen

Our School Responses

The Lord be with you.

AND ALSO WITH YOU.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.

Lord open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
Let us worship the Lord
All praise to his name

The Lord is here.

His spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give thanks and praise

Seasons of the Church Year

Prayer spaces and reflection spaces in school

Every classroom in school has a prayer space where the children can reflect on their individual prayers and reflections. There are shared spaces in school and opportunities for the children to actively engage with these.

Song Choices- collective worship and praise

In the appendix, a list of favourite songs are shared. This list is not extensive and provides choices that are traditional favourites as well as more modern choices. During special events there are key songs that the children learn that are linked to that period in the school’s calendar.

Worship Council and Youth group

We recognise the importance of children having an active role in worship. This enables them to engage with the content of the planned collective worship as well a role in the creation and leadership of worship in school. We work closely with the children’s minister from All Saints Ecclesall to engage young people in their own faith journey through small groups and a Christian youth group.