Spirituality at St Mary’s CE VA Primary School

At St Mary’s we believe that spirituality is about an awareness that there is something other, something greater than the course of everyday life, often expressed 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 – relationships with ourselves, our family, friends, those around us, God and all creation.

It involves the search for individual identity - with our responses to challenging experiences, such as death, suffering, beauty and encounters with good and evil. Having a sense of awe and wonder and reflecting on life’s biggest questions of meaning and truth.

Essentially it is to do with the search for meaning and purpose in life and for values by which to live.

This can be seen in school in many ways:

Foundation Stage – Pupils will have an open mind and a readiness to use their imagination. They will have a lively sense of curiosity and are accepting of wonder and excitement.

KS1 – Pupils have a natural inquisitiveness about themselves and others; they can think about things they value and our special to them. They have a natural openness to awe and wonder and are enthusiastic for new experiences. Pupils ask questions.

KS2 – Pupils become increasingly interested in the big questions about life and living. They ask questions but now want to move onto finding reasons and answers. Increasingly, they are fascinated by uncertainty and truth.