At St Laurence's, we pride ourselves in nurturing the spirituality of everyone in the school community. All children have an inborn spirituality. However, if spirituality is not nurtured, it can wither.

What Is Spirituality?

It is very difficult to put into words what ‘spirituality’ actually is because it is a very personal experience. It differs from person to person, and often spirituality changes within people during their lifetime. Spirituality is not the same as religious faith but it is the bedrock on which faith is founded. Spirituality is about relationships: relationships with ourselves, others, the world and with God.  It is the sense of our engagement with the world, with ourselves and with others that is intangible but a deep part of us.

What does Spirituality do for our children?

To be in touch with your spiritual self means that you are self aware.  Spirituality requires reflection, questioning and engagement with ideas.  If we can encourage the children’s spiritual being then we can enhance their self esteem, we can improve their empathy and relationships, we can allow them to find their place in the world, to value others and themselves.  

“Spirituality is not something we can see; it is something we feel inside ourselves. It is about awe and wonder, asking questions, inspiration and being aware of something ‘bigger’ outside of ourselves.”

Awe and Wonder

Children are born inquisitive and it is our duty to nurture this natural curiosity and guide them towards looking at the world and noticing, with awe and wonder, the natural and man-made delights all around us. We want to encourage them to ask ‘big questions’ about life, religion, nature, science and any other area of fascination.

Caring for Nature and Living Things

We provide many opportunities for children to learn about nature and the role they play in protecting our world. As a Church School, this is especially important. We have a very active Eco Team who have provided bird feeders around school. We continually strive to improve our local environment and consider the changes we can make to impact globally. Our school is under-going a transformation which will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint. This is pioneering work and the children are proud to be involved in making a difference to our world.

Love

Love is at the centre of everything we do. Our children are exceptionally compassionate and are passionate about advocating for change. Through worships and our Christian Values, our children are inspired to care for friends, family, our school and local community and global communities. This is fundamental to Jesus’ teaching that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. 'We live, love and learn through faith in Jesus.'

Children’s spiritual development is fostered through all aspects of our provision. It is about the relationships and the values that we consider to be important, as well as the development of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes. We give children opportunities to:

• Pray and experience opportunities of stillness and reflection. We regularly incorporate time for our children to interact with prayer spaces.
• Express personal beliefs and compare views with others, sharing feelings and opinions through discussions and stories.
• Experience a love of learning through rewarding their enthusiasm and by encouraging exploratory play and learning.
• Reflect upon the world around them and show a sense of awe and wonder towards aspects of the natural world or human achievement.
• Reflect on the situations of others through role play, stories.
• Use the concept of 'Windows, Mirrors and Doors' to develop spirituality throughout worships and the curriculum.
• Experience a range of stories, music, art, drama and dance to ignite their imaginations and creativity.