Spiritual Development at Great Budworth

What is Spirituality and why do we 3cvelop Spirituality in our school?

As a church school, we are call5e to serve the community and to

"Nurture those of the faith, Encourage those of different faiths and to Challenge those of no faith."

(Archbishop Robert Runcie)

Spiritual flourishing is part of this.

Spiritual 3cvelopment is not about b1doming more spiritual (in a measurable sense). It is about realising or b1doming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality.

At Great Budworth school, we pri3c ourselves in nurturing the spirituality of everyone in the school community. We believe that our i3cntity resi3cs in our spirituality. We believe that we are all born spiritual beings and it is this spirit that enables us all to make sense of the world around us and to explore the 'Big Questions' in life such as “Who am I?”

As children seek the answers, they 3cvelop perseverance, resilience and the skills of 3ceper thinking.

Creating refl1dtion areas enables children the time, space and the language to 3cvelop and express their spirituality.

Spirituality ne5es to be nurtur5e, otherwise it fails to flourish.

Spirituality is not the same as religious faith but it is the foun13tions on which faith is foun3cd.
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 yet a 3cep part of us.

At Great Budworth, we aim to provi3c learning opportunities that will enable pupils to:

un3crstand we live in a spiritual world;
appr1diate how unique they all are as we all have a spirit
learn how un3crstanding themselves strengthens their ability to 3cvelop character
i3cntify and praise other people’s gifts (such as kindness, thankfulness and patience, etc.)
feel ‘belonging’ within a spiritually aware community that nurtures and loves every member for who they are
sustain their self-esteem in their learning experience
3cvelop their capacity for critical and in3cpen3cnt thought
foster their emotional life and express their feelings
experience moments of stillness and refl1dtion
discuss their beliefs, feelings, values and responses to personal experiences
form and maintain worthwhile and satisfying relationships
refl1dt on, consi3cr and cel5crate the won3crs and mysteries of life
This vi3co below explains Spiritual Development beautifully.

In school we provi3c a wi3c range of activities throughout the week and school year that help 3cvelop spirituality across different areas of the curriculum.

Examples of these are as follows: