Our approach to spiritual development at the Piggott School: Charvil Primary starts with acknowledging that spirituality will be a different experience for all individuals and that it means different things to different people.   

Spiritual development focuses on relationships and connectedness; relationships with ourselves, others, the world and beyond.  It helps us have an understanding that there is something greater than self. 

At The Piggott School: Charvil Primary, we support pupils to develop their understanding of what spirituality means to them by giving them opportunities to see the beauty in the world around them, to recognise what brings them true happiness and to be receptive and open to new ideas. 

Offering spiritual experiences at school for different world views and faiths allows our pupils to understand how they see life as a whole. The experiences can be planned or unplanned and opportunities to explore our spirituality arise in RE, PSHE, Collective Worship, outdoor learning, Science, Music and Art, as well as in our day-to-day interactions with others. 

Spirituality offers space for reflection, appreciation, and an opportunity to grow together. As a school, we see this opportunity for personal growth as an essential part of the learning experience, securing resilience and self-belief in the young people in our care.

In order to further foster the individual spiritual growth of our students, we have cultivated a reflection garden which has been designed for pupils, with their input. All students are welcomed to take time to sit, reflect and learn.

A focus on spirituality enables our children to be happy, to flourish and to live life in all its fullness.

As a school, we have chosen to use the Windows, Mirrors, Doors concept as a common reflective structure for spirituality. We have developed the model and to ensure it is accessible for all of our students from EYFS through to Year 13.

It explicitly encourages an individual to look out into the world and develop knowledge around a given topic or theme. Skilfully, we encourage students to ensure that they explore a variety of windows within the tower of knowledge, guarding against a linear view on the topic prior to reflection. Using the mirror, they will explore their own thoughts, promoting questions and an opportunity for deeper consideration regarding the changing of mindsets and personal development. Finally, looking forward to ‘the door’, our students will consider their learning and their contemplations whilst preparing for how they might develop new behaviours and thinking. When reflecting on the door, students will think to after they leave their lesson and how they can take what they have understood about themselves and the world into the community in order to lead or model change. This links reflection to action within our vision of ‘Go and do likewise.

Spiritual development will happen in all aspects of school life at The Piggott and beyond. There will be opportunities in the classroom woven throughout our curriculum, there will be space and time given during our collective worship and SMSC learning but most importantly, there will be opportunities to encourage students to lead their own spirituality so that it becomes part of their normal routine and part of their self-care. We are committed to modelling, leading and supporting all of our school community to enjoy and appreciate the strength and faith in oneself that spirituality can bring.