At Westleigh Methodist, we aim to nurture everyone's minds, body and soul. We want our children to be happy, flourish and succeed in life and live in all its fullness. 

We live out our core Christian values, every day, in everything we do.

We have chosen to define Spirituality as not being something we can see, it is something we feel. It is inside ourselves and also bigger than ourselves. We believe Spirituality is a deeply personal journey (and evolves on its own pathway) and is not dependent on religious affiliation. Spirituality helps us to understand ourselves and our place in the world. It makes our spirit shine.

We look at spirituality in 3 ways:

• Self
• Others
• Nature / God

We have a whole-school shared 'Language of Spirituality'. This includes using the concepts of:

• Looking up - to God and nature's beauty
• Looking out - to others
• Looking in - to ourselves

 

Spirituality is not taught, but it is an interwoven part of all aspects of school life at Westleigh Methodist.

Christmas Pop-Up Prayer Space

December 2025

This year we have a special prayer space planned for the children of Westleigh Methodist. At the start of December, all children will have chance to visit our special prayer stations in the hall.  This will allow time for children to reflect on the Christmas story and think about hope, love, peace, and joy. The purpose will be to offer a calm and spiritual space where children (of any faith or none) can pause, reflect, and pray or think quietly.

The children will make their own journey around the hall, visiting each prayer station with their paper star. Thoughts will be added to the star as they make their journey.

Prayer stations will include:

• The Welcome Station - 'The Journey Begins'
  
  We will start by looking at the night sky. Every star has a story. Every star has seen a thousand journeys. Today we’re going to follow one very special journey. A journey to Bethlehem. A journey of people who packed up in the dark, who followed a star they didn’t know, and who trusted that God was doing something wonderful.
• The Hope Station - Following the Star
  
  Far away, wise men saw a bright new star shining in the sky.
  They followed it with hope, believing it would lead them to a special king.
  When they found Jesus, they were filled with joy and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
  Children will have chance to write their hope on a 'star'.
• The Peace Place - Silent Night
  
  In the Bible, an angel called Gabriel visited Mary. He told her: “Do not be afraid — God is with you.” Later, on the night Jesus was born, a whole choir of angels sang in the sky: “Peace on earth!
  At this station, children can sit and whisper a thank you to God. They can think of someone or somewhere that needs peace. They can say a quiet prayer or thic peaceful thoughts.
• Love Station – “The Gift of Giving”
  
  Christmas is about love and kindness. Children will have time to reflect on what gift of kindness they could give this Christmas. They will write their gift of kindness on a gift tag and put in a box wrapped in Christmas paper.
• Joy Station – “Good News!”
  
  Children will imagine they are a shepherd — outside on a dark hill in the night —  looking after their sheep. Suddenly an angel appears in the sky. The angel says: “Good news! A Saviour has been born in Bethlehem!”
  The shepherds were filled with joy when they heard the good news. Joy so big they ran — they hurried — to go and see baby Jesus. In this prayer space, children will think about JOY. They can say a quiet prayer to God: “Thank you for joy.” And ask God to help them bring joy to others. Children will be asked to reflect on what brings them joy at Christmas. They will draw or write it on the back of their star.
• Reflection Zone – “Mary’s Quiet Place”
  
  This will be a soft, candle-lit corner with gentle music. In the Bible (Luke 2:19), it says: ‘But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.’ The children will have chance to reflect on what Mary could have treasured in her heart. Children will take a few moments to be still and think about what they are thankful for this Christmas. The aim is to show children that they can make the world brighter.
• Sending Zone – “Go Shine Your Light”
  
  Children will look at the star shining here. That star reminds us that God’s love is bright. The aim here is to show children that they can shine too, and they are a light to others. As they leave, children will be encouraged to think of one way they can share love and joy. This may be with a kind word. A smile. A helping hand. They will be encouraged to shine their light and let God’s love shine through them.

Our Spiritual Pathway at Westleigh Methodist

• Loving God in different places
  Outside - Gardening Club, Reflection Area
  Library - Wellbeing Lunch
• Loving God with our senses
  - Candles in worship
  - During days when we celebrate religious festivals with food tasting and music
  - Music
• Loving God through rituals and symbols
  - Whole school worship follows a structure
  - School life centres around whole school worship and this provides a rhythm and routine to the school day
• Loving God in solitude and simplicity
  - There are moments in the school day for silence and stillness including during whole school worship
  - Reflection Areas in the classroom 
  - Whole school Reflection Area run by Child Chaplains
  - Prayer Spaces
• Loving God through confronting and challenging unfairness
  - Learning about justice 
  - History curriculum includes learning about inspirational figures
  - Reading curriculum has books with social justice and inspirational characters at the core
  - Pupil voice is heard (School Council, Ethos Committee, Child Chaplains, ECO Committee, Play Leaders, Reading Club Leaders, Prefects) and have the opportunity to make changes in school
  - Children challenge social injustice through curriculum. For example, Year 3 wrote letters to the Australian government to persuade them to save the rainforest.
• Loving God by loving others
  - Robust Behaviour Policy
  - Play Leaders develop relationships to support younger children
  - Reading Club leaders develop relationships with younger children as they support them to read at playtimes
  - Fundraising - locally, nationally and globally
  - Visitors to school are involved in school life. For example, 'Open the Book' visits to share the Nativity and Easter story (See website page School Life / Personal Development -> Educational Visits and Visitors)
  - Visits to a local care home to sing for residents
• Loving God with celebration
  - A range of music and singing is integral to our worship and celebrations.
  - The choir has an active role in school
• Loving God with the mind
  - Curriculum is ambitious
  - There is a chance for topic enrichment and home learning activities to encourage the broadening of knowledge. This work is then shared with families during our Curriculum Showcases.
• Loving God through adoration
  - Children have space to write their own prayers and reflections
  - There is chance to sing in school worship and praise through movement 
   

Spirituality Day 7.7.25

We want children to think about and delight in what makes their spirituality shine.

On our Spirituality Day, all classes will be looking at how school develops their mind, body and spirit to enable them to become fully rounded individuals.

Supporting Your child's Spirituality at Home

Please see the attached document that gives our families some ideas about supporting spirituality at home. It gives some simple ideas that can be easily followed.