In Church of England schools, collective worship should be inclusive of pupils and staff of all faiths and beliefs or none, invitational where all are invited, not required, to participate, and inspiring all to reflect on their lives and the world, wherever they may be on their journey of faith and belief.
Latest Collective Worship Resources
These documents change over time, so do keep revisiting to see what’s new:
Latest available Collective Worship Materials - scripts and slides will be added a couple of weeks before you need them.
Spring Term 2025: Songs from the heart
At the beginning of a new term and a brand new year, we begin a new series of themes, reflecting on the life and writings of King David, who contributed much of the content of the book of Psalms in the Bible. We are using the title ‘Songs from the heart’, because this is exactly what the Psalms were: heartfelt expressions of joy, sadness, frustration, hope and longing, giving voice to experiences and emotions that pupils of all faiths and none can relate to. We know that not all children like to sing, so please do make sure they understand that the word ‘song’ can also be understood metaphorically as a way of expressing what’s in our hearts – and that although we may use songs during this term, there is no compulsion to sing during your collective worship! We will also be linking to some beautiful readings / videos of the Psalms, for you to use if they are helpful. Because Easter Day is just before the start of the Summer term, we will be marking Resurrection Day on the first day of the summer term, so are deliberately leaving the term on a cliffhanger!
Collective Worship, Summer Term 2025
We gather as a community for collective worship that is inspiring, invitational and inclusive, reflecting the fact that we are a part of a diverse school family and the wider church community. We finish this academic year with a collection of stories about great journeys and great adventurers, covering the globe as we consider some lessons we can learn from people who’ve ‘boldly gone’ (!) We also consider more spiritual journeys as we track stories about those who travelled carrying precious ideas to others, including the story of the beginning of the worldwide Church and the Apostle Paul who helped establish it, centred around the dates of Pentecost. Towards the end of the term, we will be reflecting on our personal journeys as part of our school communities. Pack up a rucksack, as each week we boldly go together.
Click on the'Latest Collective Worship Materials' link above above where you will find the overview for the whole term. As we complete them we will upload a script and slides for each week.
Collective Worship Extras - World Events
From time to time we create an extra collective worship to enable school communities to respond to major national, and international events. You will find these scripts and slides in the Latest Collective Worship Materials link above.
Support for Schools
To support schools, we have written and curated prayer and worship resources for use at festivals and seasons throughout the year.
We offer training for school staff responsible for planning and leading collective worship in their school. This includes:
- Training for clergy and church visitors ‘Top Tips for Leading a Primary Assembly’. See the diocesan training calendar for the next session.
- Courses, staff meeting and inset days to help schools developing aspects of spiritual development collective worship
Church of England Education Office Guidance
Spiritual development is about enabling all in the school community - pupils and adults - to live life in all its fullness; recognising that humans are made up of body, mind and spirit.
It is not about making pupils ‘religious’ but creating opportunities for the pupils to reflect on the big issues. Spiritual development should be threaded through the life of the school and across the whole curriculum.
This video is a useful introduction