Feeding minds and touching hearts...
            Teachers talking about spiritual development . . .

Management and leadership issues

The importance of the following was identified:

·             A shared vision for the school and shared values.

·                Working together to achieve agreed goals.

·             Establishing a community where all are valued and where there is a strong commitment to build sound relationships between staff, between pupils, and between staff and pupils.

·             Consistency of approach, e.g. in behaviour   policy in the way staff respond to children.

·            To have a shared understanding of spiritual development leading to a clear policy that is ‘owned’ by all: children, staff, governors, parents.

·             Planning to allow opportunities for spontaneity.

Spiritual not religious

'Probably the greatest impact of the project for me was on a personal level. I think that the development of spirituality in a school can only happen if the staff feel comfortable about ‘being spiritual’. Part of the headteacher’s role is to help the staff towards that confidence. The project made me think about spirituality and the many ways it can be expressed and experienced. It reinforced for me the central importance of spirituality in developing the child as a whole person.'

                                                           Compton C of E Primary School

It was recognised by many of the teachers in project schools that, although they would not describe themselves as ‘religious’, they would consider themselves to be ‘spiritual’. The view is often expressed that while people wish to distance themselves from ‘religion’ they are at pains to stress their spirituality by speaking of a personal ethical stance, meditative path and so on. It was also recognized that there were teachers who felt profoundly uncomfortable with any discussion of the spiritual, wishing to identify the spiritual dimension as a personal matter. It is important to emphasize here that any discussion of the spiritual explores areas of human experience that are personal, can be painful and often require a recognition of one’s vulnerability as well as one’s strengths. Those who lead training sessions about spiritual development should be prepared for a bumpy ride! Also it should be borne in mind that people vary in their ability to articulate their views and feelings about the spiritual dimension. This is the case with both adults and children and it is important to be alive to the many different ways in which people express their spirituality.