Christian Ethos
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We are incredibly proud to be a Church of England School and we are committed to the Christian values that, as a school, we both promote and live our lives by. We are inspired by the School’s vision, which is based on Matthew 7:12, which says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” which encourages a sense of community where we all, staff and children, have responsibility for the wellbeing of each other. We believe that our Christian values underpin our daily school life and can be seen in the writing of our policies through to how we help children deal with the challenges of friendship. The school has selected twelve values which are rooted within the Christian faith and, each half term, one of these values is focused on and explored in greater depth, both in classrooms, as homework and as part of Collective Worship. |
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Collective Worship and Church Life
All children, regardless of faith or non-faith, are welcomed to our acts of worship and encouraged to reflect on all they hear and experience. We provide a secure space for children to nurture their own spirituality.
Our acts of Collective Worship are held daily and reflect our Christian status as a Church School. Celebrating, singing, praying and reflecting, all form a strong part of our worship. It is a time where children are encouraged to share prayers they have written and to celebrate work and successes from both school and home. Reflection time is often built in to the worship so that thoughts and ideas can be shared. There is a feeling of "family" as we all gather together across the age range of the school.
Alongside this we are proud to have strong links with the local church and we work closely with our new reverend. We enjoy welcoming Reverend Mike into school whenever possible, to join us in our Collective Worship and we also visit the local church to enjoy and partake in services such as Harvest, Christingle and Easter as well as gathering to mark important milestones in the lives of our young people such as the Leavers Service at the end of the school year.
The church itself also acts as a precious resource when studying Christianity as part of our R.E. curriculum.
Our acts of Collective Worship are held daily and reflect our Christian status as a Church School. Celebrating, singing, praying and reflecting, all form a strong part of our worship. It is a time where children are encouraged to share prayers they have written and to celebrate work and successes from both school and home. Reflection time is often built in to the worship so that thoughts and ideas can be shared. There is a feeling of "family" as we all gather together across the age range of the school.
Alongside this we are proud to have strong links with the local church and we work closely with our new reverend. We enjoy welcoming Reverend Mike into school whenever possible, to join us in our Collective Worship and we also visit the local church to enjoy and partake in services such as Harvest, Christingle and Easter as well as gathering to mark important milestones in the lives of our young people such as the Leavers Service at the end of the school year.
The church itself also acts as a precious resource when studying Christianity as part of our R.E. curriculum.
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Religious Education at Culworth Academy
Religious Education is a core academic subject at Culworth and is taught as part of the regular weekly time table across the school, from reception to Year 6. This is augmented with off site visits, designated R.E. days and visiting speakers. Where the area of study fits well with the term’s topic, links are made and the learning is contextually deepened.
We draw our curriculum from the Peterborough Diocese Syllabus for Education and, with them, our aim is “to enable pupils to hold balanced and informed conversations about religion and belief”. The syllabus contains units that provide an in-depth focus on aspects of a range of faiths, both Abrahamic and Dharmic, as well as thematic units which draw on multi faith and non-faith content. Big questions are used and addressed and children are encouraged to ask their own. Over time, knowledge and concepts are repeated and developed to maximize the potential for the learning to become embedded.
Christianity Units account for 50% of our curriculum and we use the highly regarded “Understanding Christianity” as our resource. This resource aims to “support pupils in developing their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it”. It provides the children with a visual representation of the overarching story of the bible and focuses on the concepts of Christianity found within the story. Where possible, all references to or from the Christian faith, whether that be in R.E. lessons, Collective Worship or the outworking of the school’s Christian ethos, are supported by the framework that this approach provides.
Our approach to R.E. teaching recognises the range of interpretations and practices within each faith/non faith group and children are taught to respect each other’s developing views and opinions. Our curriculum is matched by teachers to the needs of all children in their class so that it can be accessed by all. We encourage children to form a respectful attitude towards all world faiths and non-faiths in their own search for the meaning of existence whilst encouraging them to reflect over time in order to develop their own sense of spirituality.
We draw our curriculum from the Peterborough Diocese Syllabus for Education and, with them, our aim is “to enable pupils to hold balanced and informed conversations about religion and belief”. The syllabus contains units that provide an in-depth focus on aspects of a range of faiths, both Abrahamic and Dharmic, as well as thematic units which draw on multi faith and non-faith content. Big questions are used and addressed and children are encouraged to ask their own. Over time, knowledge and concepts are repeated and developed to maximize the potential for the learning to become embedded.
Christianity Units account for 50% of our curriculum and we use the highly regarded “Understanding Christianity” as our resource. This resource aims to “support pupils in developing their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it”. It provides the children with a visual representation of the overarching story of the bible and focuses on the concepts of Christianity found within the story. Where possible, all references to or from the Christian faith, whether that be in R.E. lessons, Collective Worship or the outworking of the school’s Christian ethos, are supported by the framework that this approach provides.
Our approach to R.E. teaching recognises the range of interpretations and practices within each faith/non faith group and children are taught to respect each other’s developing views and opinions. Our curriculum is matched by teachers to the needs of all children in their class so that it can be accessed by all. We encourage children to form a respectful attitude towards all world faiths and non-faiths in their own search for the meaning of existence whilst encouraging them to reflect over time in order to develop their own sense of spirituality.
Parent's right to withdraw.
At Culworth Academy we aim to make our Collective Worship and Religious Education accessible to all children and indeed our R.E. lessons are often precious times of open discussion and exploration with all views given time and value. Collective Worship, though Christian in flavour, are often times of sharing and celebration and an opportunity for the whole school to gather together as family. However, parents do have the right to withdraw their child either completely or partially from both Collective Worship and R.E. lessons.