Login

Spirituality

Spiritual Distinctiveness

Spirituality makes us who we are.

 

It is our given ability to reflect on our own beliefs.

It is being able to form our individual perspective on life as well as our interest in and respect for other’s faiths, feelings, beliefs and values. It is these moments in life that affect or change us in order to make us, not only better people in ourselves, but better role models for others.

 Spirituality helps us to think about who we are, how we can improve the lives of others and as a result, improve our own well-being through sharing, caring and kindness to all we meet.

 

Spirituality allows us to experience and appreciate the beauty of our world.

It is that sense of pleasure and fascination in learning about ourselves and the world around us,that gives us the passion to share such wonders with others.

 

We have agreed on a definition of spiritual development in our school community to support us as we talk about spirituality:

 

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.

 

Spiritual Distinctiveness at Mawnan

 

 At Mawnan School, it is our aim to find effective ways of developing our pupils’ aspirations, their sense of identity, self-worth and belonging, along with abundant opportunities to develop their principles, beliefs and values.

We want all of our pupils to appreciate the world around them, take responsibility for their decisions and become conscious of choices they make.

Our school foundation is built upon our Christian values of; compassion, hope, peace, perseverance, respect and trust.

Our aim is to foster the intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual development of all our pupils.

In keeping with our Christian Vision, we recognise that we are all created in God’s image and have a spiritual dimension to our existence.

We nurture this through our ambitious curriculum, through our desire to help children and adults to flourish and to use our God- given gifts to let our light shine!

 We believe that children need a caring, consistent environment where they are treated with respect and that their well-being is seen as paramount. It is our mission that pupils leave Mawnan School with a great sense of moral and spiritual awareness, a love of learning and the desire to achieve high standards in all that they do. We strive to also ensure that pupils also leave with a strong sense of where they belong, curiosity and wonder about the world around them and a growing ability to relate to and communicate with others.

 

Spiritual Development at Mawnan

 

Children’s spiritual development is nurtured through all aspects of our daily provision:

  • We believe it is paramount to form and develop strong relationships using our school vision and values as the stepping stones of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes.
  • We support our pupils in understanding and exploring values and Christian beliefs alongside beliefs that are personal and relevant to them and the way in which they impact on other individual’s lives.
  • We encourage pupils to reflect on their own experiences as well as learn from them.
  • We provide opportunities for our pupils to understand feelings and emotions and develop understanding and empathy.
  • We allow pupils to grow and flourish, respect others and be respected
  • We create a learning environment that: Values pupils’ questions and gives them time to reflect on their own thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
  • We assist pupils to make sense of what is offered to them, understand the impact and to make connections that are relevant to them and others around them.
  • We allow pupils to understand that spirituality is all around us and it is what makes us who we are.

Windows, Mirrors and Doors

We explore spirituality through Mirror, Door, Window and Candle Moments during collective worship and the wider school day.

Windows

Windows are for looking out onto the world and becoming aware of its wonders, both the ‘wows’ and ‘ows’; things that are ‘awe-full’ and make us wonder and be grateful and things that are ‘awful’ and make us wonder and ask questions. The whole curriculum and life itself are full of opportunities to recognise this sensitively.

 Mirrors

Mirrors are for looking into and reflecting, alone and together, to see things more clearly, for thinking and asking important questions learning from our own and each other’s responses. We must allow time for individual and group reflection and sharing of perspectives. Some subjects and times allow for this specifically, such as religious education and collective worship but in all subjects, there will be opportunities, unexpected or planned, when things just ‘crop up’.

Doors

Doors are for looking through in order to then act or express this in some way in response; for moving on, making choices, and doing something creative, active and purposeful in response. This can simply be done through a change in attitude or behaviour or thinking. It can also be expressed powerfully through music or art or drama or dance and through some form of social action or specific acts of giving.

Spiritual Capacities

These are some of the attributes we hope children will be able to demonstrate when they leave Mawnan School:

  • Be guided by their beliefs and values and be willing to take a stand to defend them.
  • Be self-aware and empathise with the experience of others in the school and wider community, love themselves, care for themselves, believe in their potential to achieve, and find inner strength and resilience when facing challenges.
  • Exercise imagination and creativity, appreciate beauty in the world and be alive to experiences of awe and wonder.
  • Be intrigued by mystery and be open to an awareness of the transcendent in the whole of life.
  • Be comfortable with stillness and silence and open to engage in reflection/meditation/prayer.
  • Be ready to say sorry when mistakes are made, to forgive themselves and to forgive others.
  • Be willing to take risks and to reflect, learn and grow following experiences of failure as well as success.
  • Demonstrate curiosity and open mindedness when exploring life’s big questions.
  • Appreciate and be thankful for what is good in life like friends and family, and show generosity towards others.

 

This list was taken from this document:

2019-Spiritual-Development-Interpretations-of-spiritual-developments-in-the-classroom.pdf