Collective Worship Buddies
Welcome from the Collective Worship Buddies
Welcome to our Collective Worship page. We are the Collective Worship Buddies at St Mary's. We help to ensure worship is meaningful, engaging and reflective. We gather the views of pupils, help plan worship opportunities and work alongside staff to continually improve worship across our school.
How Are Collective Worship Buddies Chosen?
Collective Worship Buddies play an important role in supporting and enhancing the quality of collective worship across the school. They act as ambassadors for collective worship, helping to promote pupil voice, support the organisation and delivery of worship opportunities, and contribute to the ongoing development of collective worship within the school.
At the beginning of each academic year, pupils in Key Stage 2 are invited to apply to become a Collective Worship Buddy. Interested pupils are asked to write a letter of application explaining why they would like the role and outlining the qualities, skills and experiences they believe would make them effective ambassadors for collective worship.
When selecting Collective Worship Buddies, pupils are encouraged to demonstrate:
- A commitment to the school's Christian vision and values.
- Enthusiasm for collective worship and spiritual development.
- Reliability, responsibility and a willingness to take on leadership roles.
- The ability to work collaboratively with others.
- Confidence in sharing ideas and representing the views of their peers.
The Religious Education (RE) Leader reviews all applications and selects two pupils from each Key Stage 2 class to serve as Collective Worship Buddies for the academic year. Selection is based on the quality of the application, the pupil's enthusiasm for the role and their ability to fulfil the responsibilities associated with it.
Collective Worship Buddies meet regularly with the RE Leader to evaluate worship, contribute ideas for future worship themes and activities, gather pupil feedback, and support the ongoing development of collective worship throughout the school.
Flourishing moments
As Collective Worship Buddies, we help to lead worship across our school and encourage others to reflect on what it means to flourish.
During one of our collective worships, we were invited to bring a photograph of a moment when we felt we were flourishing. We discovered that flourishing looks different for everyone. For some of us, it was achieving something we had worked hard for, whilst for others it was spending time with friends, helping others, learning something new or enjoying a special experience with our families.
Equally, our vision of flourishing together is highly influenced by the African concept of ubuntu – best translated as ‘I am, because we are’ – a beautiful, compelling relational vision of life in relationship – where the mutuality of flourishing together is the central concept around which any community, school, team, or classroom should be built. Sharing our flourishing moments reminded us that flourishing is about growing into the person God created us to be, feeling supported by those around us and recognising the gifts and talents we each have.
At St Mary's, we believe every child should have opportunities to flourish academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.
