Spirituality
At Urchfont Church of England Primary School, we believe that nurturing children’s spiritual development is an important part of helping every child to flourish.
Our approach is rooted in our Christian vision: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” — Philippians 4:13
Spirituality gives children opportunities to notice the world around them with curiosity, reflect on their experiences and consider how these experiences might shape the way they think, live and relate to others. It can be found in moments of awe and wonder, beauty, joy, challenge, stillness, belonging, hope and reflection.
Spirituality is deeply personal. Our Christian foundation gives particular importance to God, faith and the teachings of Jesus, while recognising and respecting the different religious and non-religious beliefs represented within our school community.
Windows, Mirrors and Doors
Across Urchfont, we use Windows, Mirrors and Doors as a simple, shared language to help children recognise and talk about spiritual experiences.
🪟 Windows – Look Out
Notice, explore and wonder.
Windows encourage children to look out at the world around them – its people, places, ideas, beliefs and beauty. We encourage curiosity and give children opportunities to experience awe and wonder.
What do I notice? What makes me wonder? What can I learn from this?
🪞 Mirrors – Look In
Reflect and think about ourselves.
Mirrors encourage children to consider their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and values. They provide opportunities to make connections with their own experiences and develop greater self-awareness and empathy.
How does this make me feel? What does it mean to me? What have I learned about myself or others?
🚪 Doors – Step Out
Think about what we might do next.
Doors encourage children to consider how their reflections might influence their choices, relationships and actions. We want children to recognise that what they learn and experience can make a difference to the way they live and how they treat others.
What might I do differently? How could I help? Where might this lead me?
Spirituality Throughout School Life
Spirituality is not a separate lesson or subject at Urchfont. It is woven naturally and intentionally throughout school life.
Children encounter opportunities for spiritual development through Collective Worship and Religious Education, but also through experiences such as Forest School, learning in nature, visits to church, creative arts, Values in Action Week, wellbeing days, community events and school celebrations.
Our Spirituality Working Wall in the school hall brings these experiences together, displaying children's thoughts, reflections, artwork and photographs and showing how spirituality is lived and experienced across our school.
Spirituality for Everyone
Spirituality is for every member of our Urchfont community.
We recognise that children experience and express spirituality in different ways. Our approach is inclusive and invitational, giving children space to wonder, ask questions and reflect without expecting them to hold or express a particular personal belief.
Through these experiences, we hope our children develop curiosity, empathy, compassion, self-awareness and a deeper appreciation of themselves, others and the world around them – giving them strong foundations to flourish both at Urchfont and beyond.
Our Spirituality Policy
Our Spirituality Policy explains our approach in greater detail, including how spiritual development is supported through Collective Worship, RE and the wider life of our school.
You can read our full Spirituality Policy below.