Spiritual Life at Hawkesley

What is Spirituality?

Spirituality can be perceived by different people in many ways. Spirituality is not something that is taught but is an inherent interwoven part of all aspects of school life at Hawkesley. We believe spirituality allows our children to develop how they relate to and foster a connection with:

• themselves
• others
• the natural world 
• arts, culture and sports
• a greater force (e.g. a belief in God(s), awe and wonder in science/nature)

As a Church school, we follow the teachings of Christ, and the ethos of the school is at the heart of our teaching and learning.  Please see our spirituality policy for more information around how we develop spirituality at Hawkesley.

 How we aim to develop a strong sense of spirituality

We believe in allowing each of our children ‘let their light shine’.  At Hawkesley, we encourage spiritual development through a variety of activities and events; some experiences act as a ‘window’.  These give students opportunities to become aware of the world in new ways. Other events act as ‘mirrors’, which give our students opportunities to reflect and meditate on life’s big questions and to consider some possible answers. Some of the ways we develop a strong sense of spirituality within the curriculum include:

• frequently reading to children and giving them opportunities to discuss and reflect. This includes both secular and religious texts, in particular, the Bible.
• ensuring daily time for prayer. This can take many forms but should include being thankful and saying sorry.
• encouraging children to show kindness, care and compassion, and to express these in practical ways - e.g. in our termly forum meetings around how we treat each other every day; charitable works both locally and globally
• providing many opportunities for creativity and using the imagination
• providing frequent opportunities for children to explore, express and share feelings – weekly planned PSHE Jigsaw sessions
• constantly reaffirming the importance of relationships; emphasising that how we talk to and relate with each other is fundamental
• providing opportunities to express awe and wonder, appreciate beauty in all its forms and appreciate the connections and unity in the world
• exploring the ‘Big Questions’ – particularly through our RE programme

Our vision is to continue to develop the Christian ethos of the school through fully celebrating our faith as a community whilst encouraging respect for and understanding of other religions.

Developing Spirituality Policy

We have created quiet prayer spaces in school for children to take moments of reflection and stillness.  These are regularly changed in correspondence with the liturgical calendar, or topical news, to relate with our whole school Collective Worship's.  Take a look at some of our spaces...