Spiritual Development

'The spiritual side of Education is the important side...it embraces all backgrounds and faiths'.
 
NCSL Reservoir of Hope 2003
What is spirituality?
 
Spirituality is a core component to ‘living life in all its fullness’ as the mind, body and soul needs to be nurtured equally. It relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life which affect everyone and is not dependant on a religious belief. It is also based on the search for ways to answer questions about life and a search for identity.
 
That means awareness of our relationship with:
Ourselves (being a unique person and understanding self-perception)
Others (how empathy, concern, compassion and other values and principles affect relationships)
World and Beauty (perceiving and relating to the physical and creative world through responses to nature and art)
Beyond – (relating to the transcendental and understanding experiences and meaning outside the ‘everyday’)
 
At Oakmeadow, we aim for spiritual development to influence all areas of education. We give pupils the opportunity to develop this through using the structure of Windows, Mirrors and Doors within our Collective Worship. Children learn about the world and others, have time to reflect on their own experiences and what this means to them and to think about moving beyond and what they learn from this. We intentionally promote spiritual development throughout our taught and lived curriculum through a focus on the ability to be reflective about their own beliefs and perspective on life. We aim to foster a sense of enjoyment and fascination by learning about themselves and others.
 
We recognise that all people develop their spirituality in different contexts therefore by providing moments of awe and wonder, fostering connections with the outdoors, opportunities for celebration and song, for silence and reflection and opportunities for serving others we can meet the spiritual needs of all our learners and staff.