Religious Education and Worship

Collective Worship

As a Church of England school our daily worships are an important part of the day. We start our week with a whole school Worship led by a member of All Saints, our partner church. They also lead a singing worship on Wednesday where hymns old and new are learnt and practiced. Fridays are our Celebration Worships, led by Year 6, where we recognise the achievements of pupils both academically with Headteacher awards for Achievement and Progress as well as for Effort and Enthusiasm. Children can also earn Fermor merits for courtesy, politeness and kindness in and around the school, which are collected and each week one person is chosen to receive a £5 book token. Other worships include Key Stage Worships on Thursdays where a Bible parable or story is explored based on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, as found in Paul's letter to the Galatians. Worships on Tuesdays explore a variety of events or special dates which are also linked to our Christian monthly themes which are: Growth Mind-Set, Compassion, Courage, Hope, Creativity, Wisdom, Forgiveness, Respect, Unity, Honesty, Curiosity. On the first Wednesday of each month the whole school meets at All Saints church and one year group leads the service focusing on their class value. They deliver the Bible message through art, drama, poetry or prose and we have a talk by one of the All Saints church leaders. We also have special Worships with visiting speakers where we learn more about how to help and support others, showing respect to those around us by supporting both local and national charities and organisations.

In response to thinking about our September Value of Growth Mind-set, children produced these beautiful butterflies after several drafts and specific feedback from their learning partners.

Classroom Reflection

Each classroom has a ‘Pause for reflection’ area and prayer tree to enable children to explore faith and spirituality in a safe, creative and interactive way. Reflection Areas are used as a focus for children's prayers and thoughts often to enable reflection on RE teaching or Collective Worship times. These areas also display the class value and Bible scripture. Children are encouraged to think about the outworking of the value in their own lives and in the school community.   

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RE Curriculum

We follow a scheme of work for our Religious Education teaching called Understanding Christianity. The 'big story' of the Bible is taught across the school through 8 'core concepts' which children encounter a number of times as they move through the school. 

Pupils will encounter these concepts, and teachers teach them through key questions, using a model with three elements.

This develops pupils’ abilities to make sense of texts related to the core concepts, to understand the impact of belief in these concepts in the lives of Christians and the Christian community, and to make connections beyond the concepts with other learning, including pupils’ own responses.  There is also opportunity in other terms to learn about world faiths, where different year groups take time focusing on religions around the world. For this we follow the Emmanuel Scheme. Children show their understanding through a variety of creative activities as well as expressing their knowledge through the written word.
 

 Year 4 Children exploring Creation: "What do Christians learn from the Creation story?"

Year 3 Children making matzos as part of their learning on Judaism: "What symbols and stories help Jewish people remember their covenant with God?"

                        Year 1 Pupil Voice......... 

Wider Application

RE has a particular contribution to make towards the spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of each pupil. It involves learning about the Christian religion, the main world religions and our core values of inspire, believe, achieve. Our Christian learning comes through the Understanding Christianity scheme which develops pupils understanding of the Bible through the themes of Creation, People of God, Incarnation, the Gospels and Salvation. These themes are reflected in our worships so each pupil can explore, discuss and reflect on the key messages. When exploring these themes the pupils are encouraged to use different areas of the curriculum to help support their learning, some of these being drama, art, role play, discussion, ICT, reading and writing. There are also visits to places of worship and visitors to school which help to engage and develop pupils’ understanding. We also have a duty to foster an accurate and increasing understanding of religions and world views. We encourage all pupils of whatever faith to explore the beliefs, rituals and festivals of others and to develop a deeper understanding of their own beliefs and practices. As a result, pupils will gain greater insight into the world in which they are growing up. These outcomes contribute to harmonious relationships within and between communities, promoting social inclusion and combating prejudice.

Inspire, Believe, Achieve bags

These bags hold items which remind us of our school motto and values. They can be found hanging in every classroom.

‘When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Acts 11:23.

Inspire, Believe, Achieve Bags

Inside our IBA bags there are 8 small items to remind us of our values.

In our bags you will find:

A lego brick (INSPIRE – to include Wisdom) – This shows us that anyone can make inspiring things through their learning. Each bit of our learning is a building block of wisdom towards making an inspiring person. There are no limits on what we can make of ourselves.

A cross (BELIEVE – to include Forgiveness, honesty & respect) – This reminds us that we believe in the ways of Jesus, he taught us that everyone is special and in the Christian teachings about how, if we respect one another and care for each other, we show love for God and the world of creation. It also tells us that, even if we don’t believe in God, we should use the cross to remind us to be honest about our short comings and ask others for forgiveness as Christ forgives those who believe in him.

The Olympics 2012 playing card (ACHIEVE) – This reminds us that, if we aim high and persevere, believe in ourselves and work together in the same spirit as the Olympics, then we can be the best we can be. It also reminds us that true achievement and reward come from consistent effort.

A Tiny Bee (Work together and persevere having a Growth Mind-set & Unity) – Bees are very good at working as a team to collect pollen, build their hives and make honey. They are always busy and persevere through all weathers. This symbol is there to remind us to work together and never give up, which links to our Growth Mind-set ideas.

A Blue Heart (Compassion) – This heart links to a charity in Africa for schools to support children who have not got the resources and environment that we have. It reminds us how fortunate we are and about giving to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Guitar (Creativity & Curiosity) – This is to symbolise our creativity like musicians and artists. It reminds us that we all have a variety of creative talents within us and to apply these when we are at school through our music lessons, art lessons and any other creative projects we are given.

Bean (Growth through Courage and Hope) – This symbolises our growth throughout our lives, whether at school or at home, we are growing all the time, not just in height! We are growing at school by being encouraged to try new things and challenge ourselves and knowing that we learn from our mistakes. Our seeds of achievement are grown here every day!

Sheep (The Lost sheep parable, our Christian vision) – Our Christian vision links to our school ethos of ‘Inspire, Believe, Achieve’. Our school enables everyone to succeed; as Jesus teaches through the parable of The Lost Sheep: no one is left behind. Inspiring children and adults, believing in God at the heart of all we do, through Christ’s love and guidance; all in the family flourish, achieving fullness.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

As a school, we have adopted the Parable of the Lost Sheep which is found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15. In this story the Shepherd leaves the ninety nine to go in search of the one which was lost. Likewise, we at Fermor seek to include and care for all, making sure that no one is left behind.

Bishop Ruth's visit

We were honoured to welcome the Bishop of Horsham, Ruth Bushyager, to speak at our

Year 6 Leaver's Service. We were the only school she visited and the children were heartened by her encouraging, positive words as they contemplated together moving on to secondary school. Ruth was particularly impressed by our butterfly display, for which every year group in the school had contributed. The butterflies spoke of hopefulness and new beginnings and were part of an initiative that the Church of England at Chichester Cathedral had promoted for the occasion.

SIAMS - Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools

As a Church of England Primary School, the SIAMS team ask the question: 

'How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?'

The SIAMS Evaluation Schedule September 2018. Find out more.