What is Spirituality?

Philip Sheldrake writes:

“In Christian terms, spirituality refers to the way our fundamental values, lifestyles, and spiritual practices reflect particular understandings of God, human identity, and the material world as the context for human transformation…We shall see that all Christian spiritual traditions are rooted in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, particularly in the gospels and in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian spirituality is fundamentally concerned with following the way of Jesus Christ.”

As a church school, it is this Christian framework that shapes our shared understanding of spirituality and spiritual development. We recognise the importance of engaging with our linked church/es in determining this shared understanding in the context of our school’s Christian vision and values.

What is St Barnabas and St Philip's view of Spirituality? 

We believe that is is essential to explore Spirituality by educating the whole child, providing opportunities to be still and reflect, to explore their own spirituality and to respect others' spirituality and much more.  Spirituality enables our children to be happy, flourish and succeed and live life in all its fullness. 

What is spirituality? 

• Religion and worship
• Relationships to other and/or to God
• Evocative or favourite places and experiences
• Creativity and responses to Art and music
• Mystery and what we can’t really understand
• Prayer, silence and meditation
• The opposite of what we can touch and feel (the material world)
• Experiences which take us beyond ourselves
• What is everlasting, or transcendent or ultimate

Spiritual development differs from person to person and is a very personal experience. For this reason, it is difficult to put into words. Spirituality is not the same as having a religion or faith; a person can be spiritual without having a particular faith. For Christians in church, spirituality is about developing a deeper understanding of and connection with God. It is about God’s way of being with us and our way of being with God. Through this we are able to respond to the loving nature of God as revealed through the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A school is not a church, but it is a collection of people who come from a variety of backgrounds for the purpose of education. Family backgrounds may be very different and spiritual development must take account of the varied circumstances of staff and pupils.

Therefore, in light of this and in light of our school’s distinctively Christian vision, at St Barnabas and St Philip's School, we consider that Spirituality makes us who we are. It is our ability to reflect about our beliefs. It is being able to inform our perspective on life and our interest in and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values.

We often use windows, mirrors and doors as symbolic representations and to help understand the world around us, making sense of the opportunities provided. Through these representations, we help our children to increase their awareness of the world around them, to experience awe and wonder and to help them experience and then be, the light to others around them.

Impact

As a school, we intend that pupils will not only be able to develop spiritually and engage in spiritual opportunities, but that they will begin to reflect on the importance of these experiences for their lives. 

Children are:

• able to share their own beliefs and values and know that they can take a stand to defend them
• self-aware and show empathy to the experience of others in and out of school
• loving towards themselves and believe in their own potential
• imaginative and creative
• comfortable with taking part in reflection, prayer and being still
• forgiving and able to say sorry
• responding creatively across a range of subjects
• inspired to take action and often link actions to their beliefs or school values
• understanding that mistakes are a part of learning and growth
• able to share what difference reflection makes to them
• curious and open minded
• able to explore and articulate spiritual and ethical issues in age appropriate ways
• appreciative of the goodness in their own lives