Collective worship should be the heartbeat of any church school.
By law, every school in England has to provide a daily act of collective worship that is wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character. In schools with a faith foundation such as Church of England schools, this should also reflect the Anglican traditions of the church.
Collective worship differs from corporate worship in church, as it is a space where all the pupils and staff, including those of other faiths or non-religious worldviews, can gather together to reflect. This can be as a whole school, as house or year groups or even as a class.
All acts of worship should be inclusive, invitational and inspirational, with pupils encouraged to take an active role in planning and leading worship.
The National Church of England Education Office has produced guidance for Collective worship in schools. Their Collective Worship webpage also contains helpful advice for schools. The Faith at Home (I am a school leader) archive of collective worship and spirituality activities, including videos for both primary and secondary schools provides high-quality resources to support schools in their collective worship.
Collective Worship Training
The Education Team provide training and support for school leaders, worship teams and clergy in developing their Collective worship.
Impactful Collective Worship for Clergy and School Staff
Date: 6th November 2024
Times: 3.30 - 5.00pm (online course led by Mark Harrington)
How do we plan and lead inclusive, inspirational and invitational acts of collective worship for your schools? To celebrate the Diocese of Hereford’s Year of Engagement in 2025 this course is being offered freely to all church schools and clergy. This online course will help you to develop your understanding of collective worship within your church schools. We will unpick the Church of England guidance for collective worship, and explore practical tools and resources to help you lead school-based worship effectively.
Register for collective worship training
Please check the training schedule for other upcoming worship training.
Schools with a partnership agreement are provided with a weekly worship video and additional resources to support them in their collective worship. Here is an example from Easter 2022.
We have access to a range of different worship resources for schools, these are shared via the e-bulletin. Please contact the Education Team to find out more and sign up for the e-bulletin below.
An example of which is our Church Year Worship Calendar for schools, designed to help schools plan their collective worship to mark the key seasons and events in the liturgical calendar.