Worship

Our identity as a Church of England School lies at the heart of our ethos and we enjoy close links with our school church, St. Thomas’ in Lydiate. Our commitment to sharing our Christian identity is embedded within our Vision and Values and the curriculum as a whole.

At St. Thomas’ we have six main Christian Values, which are:

Compassion, Thankfulness, Responsibility, Peace, Friendship and Respect

Each half term the whole school focuses on one of our values, which means the children really get to explore these values in greater depth.

Collective Worship forms our thoughts for the week and explores how this can contribute to our wider understanding of the world. We enjoy worship led by the headteacher, members of staff, Reverend Paul and other members of the Christian community. Children are also encouraged to plan, lead and evaluate worship throughout the school.

We follow the  Questful RE syllabus as recommended by Liverpool Diocese. We use this alongside a national resource Understanding Christianity. We consider the importance of religious texts, the impact faith has on believer's lives and the connections we can make to the children's own experiences and lives.

The Religious Education Curriculum at St Thomas'

We are a Church of England (Aided) Primary School and as expressed in our wholly Christian mission statement; Jesus said, "Come follow me and live your life the way God wants you to." We aim to be a community in which the ethos and curriculum reflect the Christian principles on which the school was founded. RE was inspected by SIAMS in October 2018 and our provision was described as "Excellent" in all areas.

St. Thomas' has an ethos based on a clear and explicit recognition of its Christian foundation. Our school is extremely successful in creating a caring and Christian environment in which children thrive and are happy.

Religious Education gives the children an opportunity to explore Christianity in depth. We believe it is also important to learn about Christianity around the world starting locally, thinking nationally and then globally. RE also provides our pupils with time to learn about other world faiths as they develop a sense of fairness and justice for all peoples whatever their background and wherever they live. Our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education reinforces the children's sense of awe and wonder and appreciation of others.