Leading Collective Worship

Checklist for leaders of Collective Worship:

It is essential to co-ordinate the topic/theme with the school

Ask to observe an act of worship led by the head teacher or other to become familiarwith the school’s regular practice

Try to emphasize the spiritual aspect of a planned topic (many staff feel uncomfortabletalking about God)

Take account of the age, size and ability of the group they will have a variety of differentlearning needs

Participation – what will the children / adultsdo? Check on ease of movement and thetime this could take.

Assumptions - a child that attends church regularly will want to be associated withthings that the church is doing with the school. If there are pupils in the school that theleader knows from church, don’t assume they will participate in an activity the leader isplanning. They may be happy to help, but always ask them prior to the activity takingplace.

Never assume all will know about

  • The Bible and Christian stories
  • Christian customs, rituals, traditions and symbols
  • Liturgy and Prayers
  • Seasons and festivals

We live in a very different world today, where many of these things have not beenpassed on to the next generation

Audio / visual aids work well but be aware of the content of pictures, videos etc as theymay not be appropriate; seek guidance from the school

A focus for worship? e.g. candle, icon, flowers

What music may be used? e.g. songs, sound system

Stilling, reflection, prayer (what prayers are familiar to the children?)

Get Feedback - from staff and pupils

It helps to leave a copy or outline of the session / collective worship that has takenplace so the school can build a portfolio of what visitors have been doing (this can beparticularly helpful for the school’s inspection/self-evaluation)

Information collated from Good practice in church school partnerships Board of Education Diocese of Bath & Wells

Collective worship can include:

singing, hymns and songs mime

music (pop, classical)

dance

readings from Bible,

other people’sprayers

sacred or secular literature

creative silence

humour

reflection

telling stories

stilling

a thought for the day using slides

drama

visitors

videos/DVD

PowerPoint

artifacts

If you are able to get a team (4-10 people) together to help lead collective worship, why not consider setting up anOPEN THE BOOKteam.

OTB offers a programme of themed and dramatised Bible stories at no charge to the schools. Each session is around 10 minutes long and fits comfortably into assembly times.

Different teams of volunteer storytellers use drama, mime, props, costume - even the children and staff themselves - to present Bible stories in ways that are lively, engaging, informative ... and great fun for everyone involved! Thanks toOPEN THE BOOK, children in schools will have the opportunity during Collective Worship to discover all the wonder and wisdom that the Bible can offer!

To find out more, look on their website.

To find out about training, download from the Diocesan website ‘Open the Book Training’

Eucharist in schools

Jesusspent a lot of his time on earth around food tables. He eats with all sorts of people in all sorts of settings. Of course for the Jew, every meal was 'holy' and not a thing was eaten without prayer and thanksgiving to God. At the last supper he commands 'Do this in memory of me' (Luke 22.19)

"Not everyone in school will be able toreceivethe bred and wine and not everyone will want to but we want to introduce children to all the gifts that Jesus has given us. Not everyone attending a football match is on the pitch, but all can be caught up in the action" +Lindsay Urmin,Bishop of Horsham.

If you want to know more about thissubject, download the document from the Diocesan website A good practice guide to celebrating the Eucharist in schoolswritten by Diocese of Chichester.