Cottingham CofE Primary School Academy Trust

The Peterborough Diocese Education Trust includes Cottingham Church of England Primary School (PDET).
All students are required by law [Section 6 of the Education Reform Act of 1988] to participate in a daily act of group worship.
In addition to the previously stated objectives, Collective Worship is the foundation of our lives and work at Cottingham CofE Primary School.
We give students and staff the chance to participate in traditional Christian worship that is in line with Church of England doctrine and practises.
We typically centre our gatherings on the teachings of Christ and the traditions of the Christian Church in accordance with the 1988 Education Reform Act, which specifies that collective worship should be "wholly or predominantly of a broadly Christian character."
We perform a daily act of group worship.
We ask the kids to join us in singing, meditation, and prayer.
The school's head teacher, other staff members, the kids, or visitors from the area lead the group in prayer.
Through our periods of Collective Worship, we study the School Values of compassion, respect, honesty, perseverance, forgiveness, and trust, and we spend one term of the academic year thinking about each value.
At the beginning of each term, a Bible passage that reflects each value is given.
The entire school community then recite this verse throughout the term during each period of communal worship.
Plans for worship are made in advance for the entire semester and made available to everyone via the school website.
We base the themes of our worship on Christian tradition and use holidays and events from the Christian calendar.
The staff can present the Christian Values topics using the Roots and Fruits Creative Collective Worship Program.
It adds more variety to our worship times, promotes ties between the Academy and the local community, and develops the students' leadership abilities because all teaching staff are expected to lead entire school worship.
This fosters the Academy's sense of community.
Children and employees can utilise the spiritual garden as an outdoor reflection area.
Each act of collective worship begins in a consistent way whether being led by adults or children.
This approach allows all children and adults the opportunity to read the school vison and mission statements along with the chosen termly bible verse.
Regular review of the quality of worship through observation, feedback from various stakeholders and review of planning.
On a termly basis the staff discuss the quality of Collective Worship and suggest ways this could be improved.
Parents can request permission for their child to be excused from religious worship, and the school will make alternative arrangements for the supervision of the child during that part of the assembly.
This right of withdrawal complies with the 1944 Education Act, and was restated in the 1988 Education Reform Act.
The head teacher keeps a record of all children who have been withdrawn from collective worship.
This policy will be reviewed annually and amendments suggested to the AGC for approval.