Spiritual development or ‘flourishing’:
Spirituality is a very personal experience. It differs from person to person and often spirituality changes within people during their lifetime. At Layston C of E First School, we recognise that spirituality is not the same as having a religion or faith; a person can be spiritual without having a particular faith. We have reflected upon different definitions of spirituality and have adopted Rebecca Nye’s ‘relational consciousness’ framework.
We see spirituality as developing and deepening our relationships with four different aspects of life: connection to God or something greater than humanity; connection with the world/Earth; connection with others and connection with ourselves. At Layston, spirituality is all about reflecting on relationships.
Spiritual flourishing 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 do not reach a finished state of spiritual development, but participate in an ongoing process of spiritual realisation and connection with the four aspects above. For this reason, we have adopted the term spiritual ‘flourishing’ as opposed to ‘development’. Spiritual flourishing relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life that affect everyone, and is not dependent on a religious affiliation.
How we nurture spiritual flourishing:
We embed spiritual flourishing in all aspects of our provision. It is about the relationships and the values that we consider important, as well as the development of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes.
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