As a church school, Collective Worship is very important to us.   At Long Bennington Church of England Academy, your child will be used to taking part in collective worship every day.  

Collective Worship in Long Bennington Church of England Primary Academy aims to:

• Have a pivotal place in the life of the school.
• Support pupils and adults in their spiritual growth.
• Be the central vehicle by which the school’s vision is unpacked and explored so that the whole school community is challenged and engaged with the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.
• Provide an experience of worship that will offer opportunities for those present to observe and/or respond to the presence, power and peace of God as understood by Christians. This will always be invitational, offering an opportunity to take part whilst allowing the freedom for those of other faiths and none to be present with integrity. 
• Support pupils in the development of their understanding of the Trinitarian nature of God in Christian belief.
• Provide a variety of different opportunities for reflection, understanding of diverse liturgical traditions, participation, challenge and enjoyment where all present can be actively involved and develop their own spirituality whilst contributing to the communal journey.
• Help children to become familiar with Christian language and symbolism and the cycle of the Church year so that they are offered a pattern of meanings and a framework into which they can begin to integrate experience.
• Explore a variety of ways of praying, giving children the opportunity to form their own prayers using multi-sensory foci and introduce them to some well know Christian prayers, as well as a variety of prayers of thanksgiving before mealtimes and home time.
• Offer opportunities to all children and staff to develop their skills in planning, leading and evaluating the impact of school worship with the support and shared engagement of the local church community. Pupils will be at the centre of this process.
• Ensure that materials and themes for worship are carefully selected to make sure pupils understand the work of Christians and the church locally, nationally and globally and how this reflects the teachings of the Bible and the example of Jesus.

Acts of Collective Worship help the children come to terms with the world in which they live and are planned to be:

• Inclusive: something for children and teachers, of all faiths or of none to be able to join in with;
• Inspirational: a time in the day to think about the 'big questions' in our lives; an occasion that supports the school community’s spiritual development, creates an opportunity to gather around and reflect on a common theme and ‘feeds’ their inner being; as well as
• Invitational: in school, children and teachers are invited to pray, think, or reflect, it is the child’s or teachers choice how they respond.

Our Collective Worships are as follows:

Monday - Whole school worship

Tuesday - Year Group worship

Wednesday - Picture News worship

Thursday -Choral worship

Friday - Celebration worship 

Parents have the statutory right under Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to withdraw their children from acts of collective worship at all maintained schools, including faith schools.