What spirituality looks like at Bishop Cornish School
Spirituality is not something we can see; it is something we feel inside ourselves. It is about awe and wonder, asking questions, inspiration and being aware of something 'bigger' outside of ourselves.
At Bishop Cornish we are beginning to use three symbols to teach children about spirituality. These symbols are:
Mirror - to reflect on what we see, feel and how we would like our World to be.
Window - to look beyond our own self and see our beautiful World and all the amazing people and wonderous objects within it. To be in awe and wonder about life's 'wows.'
Door - to open the door to the outside World and appreciate and explore all that it has to offer. To explore all that it has t offer. To reflect on these opportunities, to question and grow as individuals.
Another way for children to learn about spirituality is taken from the Spirituality Development: Interpretations of spiritual development in the classroom (2019) Church of England Education Office. The image aptly named, 'Growing Together' examines spiritual development as a whole life experience. It is encapsulated by trees 'growing together': Sprituali-trees.
Likening spiritual development to the growth of trees growing together offers another analogy which our children can understand.
The thinking behind this was to ask three key questions:
Where?, When?, Why?. We would like our children to find spiritual expression and understanding through words, freedom and spontaneous emotional expression which are empowering and enabling through emotions, simple but multi-layered depth and mystery of symbols and actions naturally energised by the practical everyday expression of faith in actions.