We are a Church of England School.  We are proud to be distinctly Christian.  We are different because we have Christ at the heart of everything we do.  We believe in God the Father, his son Jesus Christ and we believe in the power of his holy spirit. This means that we are faith driven in all that we do.  

At our school, we warmly welcome children and families of all world faiths and beliefs, including those who are exploring faith, those who have yet to consider faith, and those who find meaning and wonder in the world around them.

Religious Education and Collective Worship
Parents have the statutory right to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education (RE) and/or from Collective Worship. We would always encourage parents who are considering withdrawal to speak with the Headteacher so that we can discuss our approach and answer any questions.   We strongly  believe that our Collective Worship provides something valuable for every child of every faith or none.  Although rooted in our Christian foundation, it explores Christian values that are also shared human values, such as love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, respect, courage and hope. Throughout each theme, children are given time to reflect, think deeply and develop spiritually, morally and socially, supporting their holistic development and wellbeing.

Statement of entitlement

At St. Philips we  are committed to offering high quality collective worship. We recognise and value collective worship as central to fostering a sense of community and to express our schools Christian vision. Collective  worship is held daily and is an opportunity to reflect on larger questions of meaning and purpose.  It is a chance to foster a sense of fellowship and cohesion within the school community. 

Our worship is inclusive, invitational and inspiring. We aim to 'Nourish those with faith, encourage those of other faiths and challenge those with no faith. We are passionate about worship impacting the children's lives beyond the classroom and encouraging all children to 'Live life in all its fullness' and give them a sense of hope for the future. 

We follow a recognisable structure and as a Church of England school will use our collective worship times to build on the rich, lived diversity of Anglican tradition and identity.  

Faith in Action Through Charity Support

At St Philip’s, we believe that living out our Christian vision means putting our faith into action. Through supporting local, national and global charities, children learn the importance of compassion, generosity and service to others. These experiences help pupils recognise that they can make a positive difference in the world around them, developing empathy, responsibility and a sense of social justice. Charity work also strengthens our wider school community, bringing together children, families, staff and partners in a shared commitment to caring for those in need. By serving others, our pupils learn that even small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact, reflecting our vision of Christ in everything we do.

Please see the PSCHE page for our fabulous work on the 'Social Signature project' . Each half term we have an 'Impact' class worship where we think about what we have done that half term to impact on others or the world around us. See the photos below for some of our responses. 

Class worship 

It is always wonderful to see our children leading worship and taking real ownership of the experience. They work hard to plan and prepare, practising their oracy skills and thinking carefully about the message they want to share. The confidence and pride they show in leading is fantastic to see. It is also lovely to welcome so many parents who join us each time - helping to make it a very special and meaningful time for our whole school community.

Each worship is the same theme across the school, so far this year we have done:

Joy- Blind Bartimaeus 

Hope- the story of Noah

Courage- David and Goliath

Perseverance- the story of Daniel and the lions Den

Interfaith week 2024

We had a fabulous week in school visiting local places of worship and finding out more about world faiths in our RE lessons. Year 5 went to the Liverpool Anglican cathedral , Year 6 went to St Marie’s church, Year 2 went to the Salvation Army, Reception and Year 4 enjoyed a Diwali dance workshop, Year 3 went to Southport mosque and Year 1 went to Scarisbrick New Road Baptist church.

 
Click on the link to see photos of our Experience Easter event in church. 

Inter faith week 2023

We had a fabulous week in school exploring different sacred buildings around our school. All classes went to St Philips church and took part in a treasure hunt, Year 5 and 6 went to Liverpool and visited three holy places, Year 3 went to St Maries Catholic church and Year 4 and 2 went to the Salvation Army. Reception and Year 1 enjoyed a Diwali dance workshop.

https://www.interfaithweek.org/

Reflections from the week...

'Father John from St Marie's Catholic church was very welcoming and taught myself and the children lots about their religion and place of worship. It was also fantastic to see the children respond so attentively to our visitors from Christ the King'. Mr Highton

 'Reception have learnt all about Diwali as part of interfaith week , we even took part in a Diwali dance workshop where we learnt to retell the story of Rama and Sita!'  Miss Houghton 

'The inside of the Metropolitan cathedral was stunning- we all had to look down as we first walked in and then looked up. The children all gasped -it was amazing to see all the coloured stained glass and made the inside feel so special and holy.' Mrs Cooper 

'We learnt so much about all the amazing work done by The Salvation Army. 

It was fascinating to hear about the 'warm space' they provide for the homeless. Not only are homeless people given food and a safe space to get warm but they can also shower and use the washing machine to was their clothes. ' Mrs Bond 

Ava - I liked learning about the cafe because if was interesting to find out that they give people in need food. 

Edward - I liked that they gave nappies and food to people who were poor.

Harvest celebration 2023 

 For our Harvest service this year we learnt about the work of Christian Aid. Every class looked at the clip below and thought about how we can all play our part in helping the environment. We asked the big question: What is God asking you to do? 

A message from Rev. Marie- anne- '£288 was raised yesterday at our Harvest Service.  A big thank you on behalf of the church and Christian Aid.  This money will go to help people like Frank battling climate change which means that because of drought and flood they don't have enough to eat.  Thank you for all your harvest displays and reminding us that we can all make a difference looking after our wonderful world.'

https://www.christianaid.org.uk/

 Aspecial message of thanks from our Harvest 2022 charity project....

My name is Kevin Jones, brother of Peter Jones and Managing director of Compact Resource Foundation. 

I wanted to write and thank you for the effort you and the pupils at St Philips have made in supporting the often undetected yet vital work of Compact. We appreciate that there are much bigger, much more “attractive” and popular causes that come across your radar which makes your gift of 274 all the more valued. Encouraging people and organizations to commit to global giving is not easy, especially at this time of post pandemic and economic challenge.

2023 will see us moving into our 4th year which means we will have 3 years of financials, one completed project and a second already under way which will go a long way to securing further donors and steak holders.

I travel to Malawi October 26 for three weeks and will send you some update on my return at the end of November.

I enclose three of four videos we have been running locally for your interest. ( 16- 30 seconds)

Three cheers for “Global Giving”

With much gratitude to you and all the team at St Philips.

Kevin

https://youtu.be/wPwS9hMHpJ0

https://youtu.be/A2q-OiW02PI

https://youtu.be/A2q-OiW02PI

Advent 2019- putting our values into action- Compassion

Christmas time is here again! Last year we were amazed at the incredible generosity of our families when we collected items for the needy in Southport and created the amazing bags of goodies which were distributed at the Extravagant Christmas meal. 

 Once again this year we have decided to support families who live in our town through the Southport Baby bank. This is a relatively new charity, started in October 2019 by one of our own Reception mums. The Baby bank aims to help families with young babies through giving essential items and small treats. They have given a suggested list of items and each class has a specific item to collect. A box will be place in each classroom for any gifts- please feel free to send in items to school at any point until the end of term. 

Thank you in advance for your generosity- we can't wait to see the children putting compassion into action! 

 FAITH IN ACTION DAY JULY 2019

Each year group spent the day learning how Christians and other faiths put their faith into action.  We had a fabulous day- working and learning together. Click on the links below to find out what different year groups did.  

Windows, Mirrors and Doors 

This year we have introduced using 'Windows, Mirrors and Doors' as a way to structure our worship times. We also use this as part of our Prayer spaces events. 

The powerpoint below explains it in more detail. It has been a fabulous way to develop spirituality in the children and staff. Giving an opportunity to really reflect on the worship and think how it is going to impact our attitudes, behaviour or choices in the future. 

  Thank you to everyone who entered our Pom Pom making competiton! You all worked so hard on these at home ! 

Collective Worship is the glue that holds us together.  Just like a family we meet together every day to celebrate and learn about God's love for us, to hear the teachings of Jesus and to welcome his holy spirit into our lives.  We pray for ourselves and for others and thank God for everything that we have.

During our worship we learn how to make our whole world a better place by living in the way that Jesus taught us to.  Christian Values are the basis of our worship and we like to live by these values each and every day.