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Spirituality

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.

Walking with Jesus - Easter Pop-Up Prayer Space 2025 - 26

Coming soon!

The aim of our pop-up prayer space at Easter is to help our children experience the Easter story through reflection, symbols, and simple prayer — from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Through props and bible links, the children will learn about:

  • The Triumphal Entry – Palm Sunday
  • Sharing and Love – The Last Supper
  • The Garden of Gethsemane – Trusting God
  • The Cross – Love and Forgiveness
  • The Empty Tomb – New Life & Hope
  • Sending Out – Living the Easter Message and link to life today

Christmas Pop-Up Prayer Space 2025 - 26

December 2025

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

The children made their own journey around the hall, visiting each prayer station. 

Prayer stations included:

  • The Welcome Station – 'The Journey Begins'

    We started by looking at the night sky. Every star has a story. Every star has seen a thousand journeys. We followed 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 had 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 could sit and whisper a thank you to God. They could think of someone or somewhere that needs peace. They could say a quiet prayer or thic peaceful thoughts.
  • Love – “The Gift of Giving”

    Christmas is about love and kindness. Children had time to reflect on what gift of kindness they could give this Christmas. They wrote their gift of kindness on a gift tag and put in a box wrapped in Christmas paper.
  • Joy – “Good News!”

    Children imagined 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 were asked to reflect on what brings them joy at Christmas. 
  • Reflection Zone – “Mary’s Quiet Place”

    This was a soft, candle-lit corner. In the Bible (Luke 2:19), it says: ‘But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.’ The children had chance to reflect on what Mary could have treasured in her heart. Children took a few moments to be still and think about what they were thankful for this Christmas. The aim was to show children that they can make the world brighter.
  • Sending Zone – “Go Shine Your Light”

    Children looked at the star shining there. That star reminds us that God’s love is bright. The aim here was to show children that they can shine too, and they are a light to others. As they left, children were encouraged to think of one way they could share love and joy. This may be with a kind word. A smile. A helping hand. They were 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 looked 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.

 

 

 

  1. Supporting your child's spirituality
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