At St Paul’s we believe that children should have regular opportunities to develop their spiritually. This is a requirement from Ofsted too. Ofsted state:

• ability to be reflective about their own beliefs (religious or otherwise) and perspective on life;
• knowledge of, and respect for, different people’s faiths, feelings and values;
• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them;
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning;
• willingness to reflect on their experiences;

As a school we have created our own definition of spirituality:

• Spirituality is not something we can see. Through the opportunities that we offer, we will help children to capture a sense of awe and wonder and to feel connected to their wider world.
• Our Christian identity at St Paul’s will help all members of our school community to feel anchored, supported and connected to themselves and one another.
• We will provide moments for all to pause and reflect on the awe and beauty around us. We will provide opportunities for children to ask ‘big’ questions and to seek answers for themselves.

We recognise that for these skills to be developed and strengthened we need to cultivate these mindsets. We ensure that children are given a range of opportunities within the curriculum as well as within collective worship, to think deeply and to explore their thinking.

We believe that the building blocks of spirituality are:

• Self-awareness or self-knowledge
• Forming relationships
• Asking ultimate questions
• Uncertainty, Awe and Wonder
• Beliefs and values
• Creativity
• Feelings and Emotions

And have further expanded these through recognising the mindsets we wish to cultivate and offering a range of experiences where these can be developed year-on-year.

We facilitate these opportunities through thinking about ‘Ows’, ‘Wows’ and ‘Nows’. These are also used as prompts within Daily Collective Worship.

We also have a Big Question Book in each class, where the class can think about, explore and ponder ‘Big Questions’. Recent examples of questions we have explored are:

• Why is forgiveness important? How does forgiveness change a friendship?
• What is the best gift you can give? Why is it important to give even when you know you won’t get something in return?
• Does money make you happy?