Worship at Bishop Rawstorne
Flowing from our Christian Vision, Worship permeates all areas of our school life. Whilst we are a deeply Christian school, we are distinctively Anglican in terms of our denomination. This is reflected in our Collective Worship as well as our Worship on Wednesday.
'Worship is linked to students’ courageous advocacy through the theme of service.' (SIAMS)
Year Group Worship
These are times that traditionally we called assemblies. They still contain notices and give the Heads of Year the opportunity to speak to their year groups. But the key feature of these times is worship. They begin with a candle being lit, and then a Clergy Chaplain, a member of staff, a tutor group or a visitor delivers a time of thought, reflection, and prayer to engage students in exploring the theme for that week.
Worship Services
These take place several times during the year, for example at Christmas and Easter. They are times to celebrate key school events and Christian festivals. These are Christian in nature and content, and aim to meet each student where they are on their walk of faith. Celebrating together is a foundation feature of our school and brings us together as a community to worship God.
Our Chapel
In the academic year 2023-2024 we opened our new chapel at Bishop Rawstorne. This new space allows us to develop the way that we deliver worship in school – and has also provided a safe quiet space for young people to be able to reflect when they feel the need to.
Three times a year all tutor groups access morning worship in the chapel, allowing them to take the time out of the hustle and bustle of the daily routine and reflect on what is coming up ahead. Our students have told us they value this and that even small moments of reflection provided by staff have been powerful in helping them focus on the challenges in front of them.
As well as this the chapel has been used for invitational worship (open to all who are keen) involving eucharist services. There are three of these a year letting our students grow their faith amongst their peers.
The morning chapel worship for this term can be found below:
The Chapel rota and previous morning worships can be found below:
Worship Wednesday Resources
Each Wednesday all tutor groups (unless in the main hall for Year Group Worship) partake of a time of worship in their tutor group with their tutor. Collective worship is the unique heartbeat of a Church school and is offered as part of a wider opportunity for pupils and adults to encounter faith by engaging in conversations about God, both as individuals and together. We take specific guidance from the Church of England that can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/collective-worship-guidance-18052021.pdf.
Samples of these resources are below:
Prayer Booklet
Prayer is a central component of Christian life. Staff lead prayers each day at Bishop Rawstorne. We start and finish each day with a prayer as an act of Worship. Often students are invited to say the school prayer or the Lord’s Prayer. Our school’s prayer booklet, which includes The Academy Prayer, can be accessed on this page for anyone who wishes to use it to worship at home:
Blackburn Diocese Link
At Bishop Rawstorne we maintain a healthy and strong relationship with Blackburn Diocese, as well as with the Church of England nationally through the Church of England Education Office (CEEO). The Church of England is heavily invested in education and the wellbeing of children across the country. Their work and our work with local Diocese ensure a great breadth and depth of advice and support as well as ongoing training for all areas of school life and education, from teaching and learning, to governance as well legal policy. The school is part of the ‘Called, Connected and Committed’ leadership program with the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher and other SLT members attending this network.
As well as national courses and being part of CEEO initiatives, we value our biggest supporter and advisor, the Blackburn Diocese. Many of our school leaders have attended the North West’s Anglican Church school’s ‘Christian Leaders’ course which networks northern dioceses including Blackburn, Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, and Carlisle. Investment in our Christian leadership is a long running aim and principle of school’s SLT and Trust.
Our work with the Church of England help us to set both the theme and standard of our Christian leadership and how our school functions in terms of its vision. This affects all areas of the school for example recruitment, human resources, pastoral care, curriculum and Special Educational Needs.
For further information please visit the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education Schools’ website page: https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/schools/
