Nurturing Spirituality at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Catholic Primary School

“As little birds learn to sing by listening to their parents, so children learn the science of virtue, the sublime song of Divine Love from souls responsible for forming them.”

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

We have no greater influence into our approach to developing spirituality in our school than our patron, St Thérèse. St Thérèse may have died at the tender age of 24 but her life is an inspiration to our school. St Thérèse found spirituality in the simplest of things and she has inspired us through her actions and words. 

We use the examples she gave us to guide how we try to develop spirituality in our school by:

Supporting the role of parents – showing love and an interest in beauty all around us

St Thérèse was loved by her parents and they helped her to be the inspiration she is and this is why we want to work in partnership with our parents, supporting them so that our children spiritually can grow through love, as it did for St Thérèse. Being the youngest of nine children and despite the many challenges in her early life, from the love and example of her parents, St Thérèse developed the ability to see the beauty in small things from an early age. Her parents taught her to see beauty and awe and wonder in all around her – we want to work with our parents to do the same. 

Serving others through humility

We want our children to develop a sense of humility and to grow in spirituality through loving service as she taught us  ‘the humbler you are , the happier you will be.”

Individuality – Discovering our own vocation

Each of us are individuals and our spiritual growth will always be different and ever changing. People don’t reach a finished state of spiritual development, but participate in the ongoing process of spiritual realisation. St Thérèse says that in the garden of Jesus  there is a variety of flowers. Each has its own particular beauty. Perfection lies in being just what he wants us to be. Our role is to help our children to discover their own identity so they can be true to themselves.

Prayer

St Thérèse inspires us and shows us that prayer is a means of becoming closer to Jesus and helps us grow spiritually. This is why we value prayer in our school and it is central to our life. St Thérèse said: “I’m praying, I’m saying nothing to him, I’m just loving him.” St Thérèse inspires us to see prayer as a means of growing closer and uniting with Jesus. 

Knowing Christ

Christ inspired St Thérèse and she devoted her life to Him. He is the one she wanted to ‘resemble’. In our school we want our children to learn about Christ so they too can be inspired by Him . We want to  give our children time to know Christ and to be with Him in our school.

Giving to Others

The rose is predominantly the symbol most associated with St Thérèse – it is the emblem of her self-giving and sacrifice. Giving is the way love makes itself visible and giving is the sacrament of loving. We believe that by giving love to others forms our spiritual development and it gives our love a purpose so we seek opportunities to give love to others.Love proves itself through deeds

Our aim is that our pupils develop a spirituality that is informed by Church teaching and Christ, as modelled in a personal life of virtue and service towards others. God and spirituality is within each of us and all around us. We have based our spiritual experiences around these themes:

• Helping parents show love and teaching the children to see beauty in all things
• Serving others through humility
• Individuality – Discovering our own vocation and celebrating our uniqueness
• Prayer – developing a closeness with God and Christ
• Knowing Christ
• Giving to others

Everyone, whether religious or not, have spiritual needs such as: the need to love and be loved. the need for meaning and purpose. the need for support and hope. We believe that Spiritual experiences can contribute to our pupils being more creative, patient, persistent, honest, kind, compassionate, wise, calm, hopeful, and ultimately live out our mission to ‘Live in Love’.

What is Spirituality?

 We have come to recognise that there is no single definition of spirituality because it can mean different, but equally meaningful, things to different people at different times. We believe that a single person’s view of spirituality can change throughout their life. 

We aim to give children a range of experiences to develop their own spirituality and refine and reflect on what it means for them. We believe that spirituality should influence all areas of education and life, therefore we aim that all areas of the curriculum where possible and practical can contribute to pupils’ spiritual development. Spiritual development relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life which affect everyone, and is not dependent on a religious affiliation. 

We cannot create spiritual children because it is our belief that they are already spiritual beings when they come to us at school but we can nurture their spirituality. It is our aim that we create a spiritual community at our school

Spiritual development is not about becoming more spiritual, it is about realising or becoming more and more aware of one’s natural, innate spirituality. This is sometimes a slow and gradual process, at other times there might be significant stages of realisation, which are part of the ongoing ‘developing’ process.  People don’t reach a finished state of spiritual development, but participate in the ongoing process of spiritual realisation.

Through our curriculum and lived out experiences at St. Thérèse, we endeavour to provide opportunities for spiritual development for all learners and their interests:

How Spirituality is nurtured at St. Thérèse

At St. Thérèse we offer a variety of opportunities for all children and members of the school community to explore spirituality. As a Catholic School this often reflects our distinctively Christian character.

Children’s spiritual development is fostered through all aspects of our provision. It is about the relationships and the values that we consider to be important, as well as the development of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes. We give children opportunities to:

• Express personal beliefs and compare views with others, sharing feelings and opinions through discussions and stories.
• Begin to develop their own system of beliefs which may or may not include religious beliefs.
• Experience a love of learning through rewarding their enthusiasm and by encouraging exploratory play and learning.
• Reflect upon the world around them and show a sense of awe and wonder towards aspects of the natural world or human achievement.
• Reflect on the situations of others through role play, stories.
• Experience a range of culture, music, art, drama and dance

Where is Spirituality in our Curriculum?

Spirituality is not a study or subject in the curriculum. It is a connection to something that is bigger than ourselves. It is about awe and wonder, asking questions and being inspired to look beyond ourselves and serve and care for others and nature.Spirituality does not just occur in our planned curriculum and lessons. It can happen:

• At lunch and break times
• At special events
• In contemplation and prayer
• In visits and through visitors to school
• Throughout the whole of the school day
• In the experiences that children bring to school
• In daily conversations
• The unexpected

What is the Role of our School Community?

In school we give opportunities for reflection, in lessons and through prayer and liturgy, children develop an understanding of looking back and reflecting on what they have experienced. This may take the form of looking back and taking from the past, from scripture, from an image or learning experience. All members of the school community have a responsibility for helping to nurture children’s spiritual development and where appropriate we connect with our parish and wider community to develop spirituality.

Staff can do this through:

•     Establishing and maintaining a partnership between pupils, parents and staff; recognising and respecting the faith background of the children and their families;
•     Taking part in, and supporting, collective acts of worship;
•     Being good role models in their conduct towards other members of the community;
•     Promoting an attitude of respect for other people and for others’ views;
•     Nurturing consideration for and generosity towards others.
•     Drawing on the experiences of pupils and their families during religious education lessons and beyond;
•     Recognising and being constantly aware of the needs and backgrounds of each individual pupil;
•     Being willing to develop their own knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith and the faiths of others;
•     Having a positive attitude to the value of spiritual education.

Children can do this through:

•     Taking an active part in acts of prayer or liturgy;
•     Participating in activities which promote the skills allowing them to engage in examination of and reflection upon religious belief and practice;
•     Conducting themselves towards others considerately in acts of service to others;
•     Respecting the views and beliefs of others.

Parents can help through:

• Showing love to their children an teaching them to love others through kind deeds and actions
• Adopting a positive attitude to the value of spiritual education;
• Supporting the school’s Catholic ethos and acts of community worship such as assemblies, Mass and other church services;
• Respecting the views and beliefs of others.

Parishioners

• Pray and journey in faith together
• Share Sacrament and Eucharist
• Take part in collaborative acts of social justice   
• Share in tradition and liturgical ritual – Rosary/Processions