Spirituality is looking at how we understand ourselves, other people and the world around us. At St Michael's, we use the following three ways to talk about spirituality:

LOOKING IN means:

• Awareness of our own feelings and being able to reflect.
• Awareness of how unique we are and a happiness of who we are.
• Being thankful for the things we have and the people we are.
• Exploration of personal faith

LOOKING OUT means:

• Showing empathy and understanding in relation to injustice and inequality
• Showing kindness to others
• To love and be loved
• To make a difference  

LOOKING UP means:

• Encountering and experiencing God
• Opportunities for prayer and reflection
• Making sense of the world
• Being open to more
• Thinking about the big questions 

Our children encounter a wide range of opportunities to develop their spirituality throughout their time with us. These include, but are not limited to:

• A daily act of Collective Worship.
• Reflection tasks linked to Collective Worship.
• Children leading in daily prayer.
• Singing and a school Choir.
• A weekly act of Celebration Worship.
• Reflection Areas in each classroom throughout school to encourage children to quietly reflect and prayer throughout the day.
• Regular visits to St Michael’s Church to join in with services.
• Teaching morals through our school values of respect, kindness, curiosity and faith
• School Value rewards and recognition through stars of the week and dojo certificates
• Opportunities for awe and wonder
• Displays around school are though-provoking and encourage children to be reflective.
• Children understand that mistakes are part of life and how to cope with this
• Through our curriculum, e.g PSHE, RE, History, Geography, Science
• Through reading books

Spirituality in Our Curriculum

Our ambitious curriculum ensures that children are exposed to a wide variety of spiritual experiences and deep meaningful questions. Children’s spiritual development is shown by their:

• Beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life and the decisions they make
• The respect they show for different people’s values and feelings
• Sense of enjoyment and wonder in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
• Use of imagination, curiosity and creativity in their learning
• Confidence to reflect on their experiences – they are encouraged to do this regularly, especially at the end of a unit of work

Impact of Spirituality

In developing spirituality, our children realise how wonderful they are and realise their own potential. They are self-aware and show empathy towards others in and out of school.  Our children are curious, open-minded and can explore things in appropriate ways. They can express and understand feelings and have a strong moral sense of right and wrong. Although able to enjoy and embrace quiet and stillness, they possess an active imagination.