CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVENESS
At The Priory we follow the teachings of Christ. We promote Christian values and all pupils are educated in the beliefs and devotional practices of the Church of England. We have based our vision and values around the parable of the mustard seed. Please see our vision and values page - Vision and Values
Prayer
The importance of prayer is evident throughout school. The children are encouraged to learn and share prayers during the school day, together with grace meals and traditional prayers of the Church that are taught with our curriculum and in collective worship. Each class has a prayer book, to record and share their favourite and own personal prayers. We teach pupils the Lord's Prayer alongside other forms of prayer such as teaspoon prayers (thank you, sorry, please - tsp). Please see photos of our every changing prayer space on our RE curriculum page.
Religious Education
The SDBE RE scheme is followed throughout the school. This is supplemented by work on the saints and stories from the Old and New Testaments, Circle time sessions and Personal, Social and Health Education. All pupils learn about other religions and cultures and are encouraged to show respect and acknowledgement for the beliefs of others through open discussion and shared experiences. This is reflected through the involvement of pupils, both within school and the wider local community. Pupils learn about religion and from religion in RE lessons so that each lesson is meaningful to them.
Our vision, values and links to RE are made across the curriculum such as discussing how God created light on the first day in relation to a science unit on light, or when learning about civil rights we discuss our Christian value of respect.
Please see more detail about our RE curriculum here. RE page
Spirituality
At The Priory School, we believe that spirituality is about an awareness that there is something greater than ourselves and this is often witnessed through our own experiences, religious beliefs and practices. We believe spirituality enriches individuals in their understanding of and ability to relate to others and society as a whole.
Children and adults are encouraged to develop a strong sense of spirituality to support their own well-being. We recognise that the development of spirituality is important for everyone regardless of their faith and background.
Please see spirituality within the PSHE curriculum here
Please see our spirituality development document here
spirituality at the priory copy.pdf
Christian Values
COLLECTIVE WORSHIP
Collective Worship
Participation in daily collective act of worship remains at the helm of every school day and sometimes within RE lessons. Every class in Key stage 1 and Key Stage 2 prepares and leads a class collective worship throughout the year, with parents and families warmly welcomed. Children plan, lead and participate in special collective worships during the school year which are linked to our Christian virtues or are timed to coincide with events in the Church’s calendar.
We have collective worship each day. They are led by the head teacher, deputy head, assistant head teachers, class teachers and our members of Holy Trinity Church: Reverend Mark Eminson (Team Rector) and Reverend Simon Asquith (Curate). We also regularly invite visitors to come and lead collective worship, for example from the local community or local and school supported charities.
At The Priory, our collective worships link to the Christian calendar, our values and vision and also other key events in the school year, that need to be celebrated, discussed and valued. Our annual plan for collective worship, also links to our learning and life skills and PSHE themes.
We collate evidence of our collective worship and pupils' thoughts in a book available to view in our school reception.
diversity bame collective worship annual overview.pdf
We endeavour to ensure collective worship allows pupils and staff, the time to gather, engage, respond and send forth, ensuring a time for personal reflection and that we take that reflection away and apply it to our own lives.
Please find our Collective Worship Policy here -
collective worship policy 2023.pdf
Holy Trinity Church
The Priory Church of England School is part of the Holy Trinity Parish in Wimbledon.
Reverend Mark Eminson and Simon Asquith lead Collective Worship once a week with our pupils which is planned alongside the senior leadership team.
Both Mark and Simon are governors and active members of The Priory. They are part of our faith team supporting us as a community, individually and with events in school such as church services, blessing our prayer space and supporting our RE curriculum.
We visit Holy Trinity Church for several services over the year and many of our pupils visit as part of their RE teaching or through community projects such as our Richard Thornton fortnight.
Year 6 visit Southwark Cathedral as part of their leavers' service at the end of their time here at The Priory.
Valuing All God's Children
The Church of England is committed to an education that enables people to live life in all its fullness and fulfils the words of Jesus in John 10:10
