Collective Worship
Every day our school community comes together for collective worship. As a Church of England school, our collective worship is centred on Christianity and our core Christian values.
We encourage children to regard collective worship as a period of calm, respectful reflection: to be quiet and thoughtful, to listen carefully to the leader and to participate in prayer and singing. We create a peaceful atmosphere by using music and candles and other elements that act as a focal point for the attention of the children.
Every day, a different member of staff or clergy leads our collective worship:
Monday worship is Clergy Assembly: worship led by a member of the clergy from St. John-at-Hampstead.
Tuesday Worship is Leadership Assembly: a member of the leadership team lead worship in line with the school vision and the value of the half term.
Wednesday worship is Singing Assembly: worship is lead by our Music Lead.
Thursday worship is Achievement Assembly: worship is where we celebrate achievement in the school from the past week. Headteacher’s special mentions are given which include a celebration of children demonstrating our core Christian values.
Friday worship is Class Assembly: once every term each class leads an act of worship and presents what they’ve learned to the rest of the school. Parents and carers are warmly welcomed.
Christian Festivals
We also celebrate the major Christian festivals throughout the year. Parents and carers are invited to join us, either at school, or at our Parish Church; St John-at-Hampstead. These include the Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter and Harvest services.
Church
We also celebrate the start and end of the school year in our Parish Church. Parents and carers are welcome to join us whenever we attend the church.
Withdrawal from Collective Worship
While Hampstead Parochial is a Church of England school, we are committed to respecting individual beliefs. We celebrate and value the cultural diversity of all the members of our school and we have a cohesive community. Although collective worship will always reflect the Christian ethos of our school, we respect and acknowledge the variety of religious observances which are represented in our school and within the wider community. We acknowledge too that there are those of no faith who chose to be part of our school community.
Upon entrance to the school, parents/ carers are made aware of the Christian basis of our teaching. It is therefore unlikely that parents/carers would wish to exercise their legal right of withdrawal. However, should such a case arise, the parents/carers concerned should consult the Head teacher.
Further information may be found in our Collective Worship policy, which can be found here.
