“RE has a very high profile in the life of this school. The pupils’ in-depth knowledge and understanding of Christianity is a strength. Pupils are animated when they talk about RE and their learning. This is clearly evident in the outstanding quality, quantity and breadth of work in RE books. Pupils understand the purpose of RE as it helps them understand their place in the world and the impact their actions can have on others.”

– SIAMS 3rd July 2018

Religious Education has a central place in the curriculum for all of our children. As a Church of England VA school we follow the new LDBS Scheme of work. Please see our whole school RE curriculum map in related documents.

As a staff we are committed to teaching our children about God and helping them to reflect and learn from God, which we carry through into our daily worship. Our distinctive Christian values underpin our RE learning and everything that we do in school, and scripture from the Bible is shared with staff and children every week.

RE enables pupils to think theologically and explore the great questions of life and death, meaning and purpose; reflect critically on the truth claims of Christian belief; see how the truth of Christianity is relevant today and face the challenge of Jesus’ teaching in a pluralist and post modern society; experience the breadth and variety of the Christian community and become active citizens, serving their neighbour.

Spiritual Development

At HTSS we believe all children are innately spiritual and that throughout their lifetime they become more and more aware of their spirituality. We are deeply committed to enhancing children’s understanding of who they are, what their place is in the world and how this impacts them, their friends, family and their lives.

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 (during COVID-19 we have had to adapt the way we come together as a school). This is the current timetable for collective worship:

Monday worship is Leadership Assembly: a member of SLT and clergy lead worship in line with the school vision and the value of the half term in key stages.

Tuesday Worship is Class Assembly lead by our parish priest, Father Graeme Rowlands.

Thursday worship is Class Collective Worship lead by our parish priest, Father Graeme Rowlands.

Friday worship is hymn practice lead by our parish priest, Father Graeme Rowlands in key stages.  

Friday 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.

Class Mass

We celebrate termly as a year group in our Parish Church. Father Graeme Rowlands leads a class mass and children and staff can come together, worship and receive communion. Please see the related documents for this Autumn term masses.

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; Holy Trinity Church. 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.