SPIRITUALITY

"Let all that you do be done in Love" 1 Corinthians 16:14

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning, and purpose to our lives.” (Brene Brown)

Our Spirituality Definition:

We nurture and celebrate the unique value and self-worth of each of our school family. Here at Stoborough, spirituality is woven like a thread through the fabric of our school enriching who we are. We believe that spirituality is about developing a relationship with ourselves, others, the world and beyond and recognising that love is at the heart of it. 

As a church school we believe that spirituality should influence all areas of education and life. Spiritual development is not about becoming more spiritual, it is about realising or becoming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality.

We create precious moments to transform thoughts, actions and our senses. It is the capacity to be still and reflect with awe and wonder on the beauty and possibilities of the human and natural world ... and beyond. Reflective thinking on self, others, the wider world and beyond is encouraged through the windows mirrors doors approach. 

Everyone is encouraged to take a moment to stop and be still and reflect during the busy school day at one of our prayer spaces. 

We believe that spirituality begins within us and reaches out to others, to the world and beyond as we explore big questions about humanity, faith and belief. With our school values of confidence, curiosity and compassion firmly at the centre of all we do, we seek to develop spirituality through four key areas: 

Ourselves: 

Everyone is spiritual whether they have a faith and follow a religion or not. At Stoborough School children and adults have the opportunity to ask, what makes me tick? We seek to nurture and celebrate the unique value and self-worth of each member of our school family and to develop confident individuals.  

Others: 

We are all part of the community - here in school, elsewhere, locally and globally too! We learn how empathy, compassion and other values affect relationships. Spirituality helps us to understand how our actions can have an impact on others. We learn that others have different perspectives/views from me. 

The World: 

We can recognise the beauty of the physical world and our responsibilities to care for it. In worship, we use Picture News to share current events from around the world, prompting us to think deeply about the situations others face, and what part we can play in our world.  

Beyond:

Thinking beyond relates to the transcendental, out side of the 'everyday' experience. Pupils have the opportunity to reflect on how people have different views of what is 'beyond.' It is about grappling with the 'unanswerable' questions. At Stoborough School pupils are also encouraged to reflect on their own relationship with God. 

Big Questions: 

Within our worship and curriculum, we explore big questions to deepen our spiritual understanding. We encourage our learners to be curious and to ask their own questions, too.  There is a close link between RE and spirituality, and children are actively encouraged to spend time reflecting on and asking deep questions in RE. Teachers use music, artwork, photographs, poetry and times of stillness.

Each year, we enter the 'Art In Heaven' competition and have had many winners since 2015. This is an amazing achievement in an international competition which regularly receives over 3000 entries annually. Clergy members are invited into Key Stage 2 to answer pupils' questions.

Stoborough School is delighted to announce that the Reception Class of 2023 are winners of the National Association of Teachers of RE, Spirited Arts competition!

Prizes were awarded in two categories:

1. Where is God Today? (entitled ‘Creation Patchwork’)

2. Green faith, green future? ‘God’s good earth’ (entitled ‘Earth Jigsaw’)

Special congratulations should go to Alana and Jessica, for providing their own thought- provoking reflections, to accompany the impressive pieces of class artwork.

Since 2004, The Spirited Arts competition has attracted over 450,000 entrants (averaging 25,000 annually) with 3,000 entries sent into NATRE each year for judging. Hundreds of UK schools get involved, and there are entries from as far afield as Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand and Bahrain.

You can view our Stoborough entries on the Spirited Arts website gallery:

here