New Perspectives on Spiritual Development

(title page)

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 Contents

Thinking about what spiritual development is 1

Exploring what is distinctive about spiritual experience 9

Working out the implications for teachers 18

Reflecting on the whole-school implications 26

Bibliography 36

(Please note that these page numbers refer to the printed pamphlet,
not this file. The actual page numbers from 1-36 are therefore 3 less
than the page number of the file. If you wish to quote with page
numbers please check with the author on
tony.eaude@green.ox.ac.uk)

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 Foreword
The first signs of Government interest in spiritual development
began with an Ofsted questionnaire to all schools in 1993, signalling
that schools are more than academic treadmills. This extraordinary
questionnaire not only acknowledged the existence of spirituality. It
assumed close connections with cultural and moral issues and
declared that spirituality - whatever it was - would from then on be
added to inspectorial check lists.

Tony Eaudes subtle and wide-ranging analysis responds to some of

the very questions that Ofsted raised, supported by important new
evidence that underpins what he has to say. Neurological scans can
identify physical areas of the brain where activities associated with
spirituality occur, indicating that spirituality is a universal human
phenomenon. Research data suggests clear links between our
sense of self-worth and the succouring cultures of home and school:
the building blocks are the fine detail of day-to-day, moment-to-
moment experiences of relationships and the environment. This
experiential fine detail, when we explore it sensitively enough, leads
us quite naturally into the spiritual domain. Positive life experiences
act as a protective veil as well as a proactive stimulus for deeper
explorations of thinking and feeling. The wider scope of spirituality is
both a highly individual and a deeply communal experience that
includes and goes beyond formal religious belief. It links our self-
esteem, the integration of personality, and our strivings for
experiences beyond the narrow compass of ourselves.

Tony Eaude helps us to appreciate both why this is so and how we

can take practical action to engage our brains in the mysterious
realms of knowing of - experiential and emotional knowledge - as
opposed to knowing that, or conventional intellectual knowledge.
This widens our regard for matters that, despite all the certainty of
their reality, almost, but not quite, passeth all understanding.

Professor Sir David Winkley

President, National Primary Trust
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 Thinking about what spiritual development is

Can we define what spiritual development is?

When spiritual development is mentioned, people usually change

the subject rapidly or start a long discussion starting how fascinating
. Many teachers and schools shy away from thinking about it. I
want to suggest that it is not something exotic, or weird, or to be
afraid of and that, especially in primary schools, teachers already do
much that contributes to spiritual development.

This publication tries, simply and accessibly, to provoke discussion

so that teachers and headteachers think in new ways about spiritual
development and how to enable and enhance it. Some of what it
says challenges priorities and teaching methods currently in favour.
So if your views are not challenged, I will not have succeeded. But
you are going to need to do some thinking yourself!

The approach is based primarily on my research involving extensive

observation of, and discussions with, teachers of four- and five- year
olds in Oxfordshire schools and my experience as a headteacher.
While this is, inevitably and rightly, personal, it is also enriched by
curricular guidance and other peoples views including the insights of
headteachers and advisers in the Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire
LEAs and Diocese of Gloucester through three case studies. The
bibliography highlights some accessible and useful publications.

There is no one simple, clearly agreed definition of what spiritual

development is. Its meaning is elusive and hard to pin down.
Consider what you think it means - you may not cover everything,
but it is that sort of idea.

What does the idea of spiritual development bring to mind?

Write down your immediate thoughts.

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Although people disagree strongly whether a particular activity or
response has anything to do with spiritual development, most
recognise that it is not open to what philosophers call stipulative
definition, with exact boundaries. The best comparison is with a
concept like games. We all know what a game is, but try defining
precisely what a game is! We come to a new, and richer,
understanding by looking at common features of a range of
examples. This is one reason for the use of illustrative case studies.

When thinking about spiritual development, you may have chosen

something to do with (or any combination of these and other areas):

evocative, or favourite, places and experiences;

creativity and responses to art and music;
mystery and what we can't really understand;
prayer, silence and meditation;
religion and holiness;
relationships to each other and/or to God;
the opposite of what we can touch and feel (the material world);
experiences which take us beyond ourselves;
what is everlasting, or transcendent, or ultimate;

This, at least, narrows the field, so we know roughly what areas we

are dealing with. You may already think either that certain things
unrelated to spiritual development are being slipped in or that some
elements are included which you want nothing to do with. But unless
you think spiritual development is a meaningless term, you will
probably agree that it is about what is significant and profound and
is, potentially, something universal, affecting everyone, though in
different ways. To say that spirituality only makes sense within a
framework of religious belief risks excluding most children (and
adults) in our present-day society. But the link with organised religion
is an important area we will return to several times.

The language used to describe spiritual development poses a real

problem. First, however it is described, it both reflects and very
subtly structures our own view. To talk, for example, about spiritual
development presupposes that people do develop spiritually, a
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contentious issue to be considered later on. Second, many activities
associated with spirituality are beyond words. Third, the language
used is full of metaphors and associations, some of them conscious,
but many so deep we are hardly aware of them. Take the term
spirituality: its associations with religion, maybe as a personal
response to God rather than organised worship and as something
separate from normal life often involving unusual maybe
incomprehensible activities, may arouse strong re-actions. Those
who are not religious may say I cant make any sense of that.
Those interested in religion but who do not go to church may think
Im interested in the personal aspect, but not any organisation or
doctrines. Churchgoers may think of spirituality only, or primarily, as
how they respond personally to God. Consequently I try to avoid the
term spirituality and use the more neutral spiritual experience.

Does it help to think of spiritual experience instead?

I think of spiritual experience as the type of experience which helps

to address certain types of fundamental question. These are
questions of meaning, identity and purpose such as:

who am I?
where do I fit in?
why am I here?

These questions relate to all people, regardless of age, background,

culture or religion. Most of the time, we do not think about such
questions in depth, but they surface at different points in our lives
and can never be conclusively answered. Certain types of
experience are likely to bring such questions to the fore, but none
necessarily do so. While people seek answers in different ways
because culture is enormously important in framing how we see and
understand the world, these are the most important, and sometimes
the hardest, questions about ourselves and our place in the scheme
of things. Religion has been, and remains for many, a very important
route for exploring these questions, but such questions are universal
and take us beyond the boundaries of religious faith.

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Using the term spiritual experience, rather than experiences, may
sound rather academic but I want to help teachers move away from
thinking of a prescribed set of experiences. Very ordinary things can
be routes into spiritual experience, like a snatch of conversation or
a moments reflection, if they help to answer these questions. Rather
than looking for a scheme of work, or curriculum, of spiritual
experiences or activities, we need to see the teachers role as the
process of enabling children to understand themselves. Some
people talk of the spiritual dimension or journey, or of spiritual growth
or health. Whatever language you use, remember that spiritual is
not the preserve of any one subject area.

You may think that young children do not ask such questions, that it
is inappropriate for them to do so, or that it is not the schools role to
deal with these issues. I shall try to persuade you otherwise!

Points for consideration

Do you agree that these are universal questions?
Would you add any others?
Do you think young children ask such questions?
Are there particular points in our lives when we ask such
questions?

What is one school highly regarded for its spiritual

development like?

Let us look at one school where the provision for spiritual, moral,
social and cultural development was described by Ofsted as
excellent. Christ Church, in Cheltenham, is a Church of England
(Aided) primary school with 218 pupils. This case study highlights
many elements, some specifically linked to its Christian ethos, but
many others which may be seen in any type of school. We will return
to this important point. Janie Fentem, the headteacher, writes:

Visitors frequently comment on the warm family atmosphere. Everyone

being valued as a member of a large and caring family group is central to
the schools ethos. This family identity is represented symbolically by our
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school bowl. The bowl contains glass beads and is filled with water, on
which float three candles. The water reminds us that we are surrounded by
Gods Holy Spirit. The three candles represent the Holy Trinity, and also
remind us that Jesus is the Light of the World. The beads are of different
colours, shapes and sizes, just as the children and adults of our school
family are. Everyone in the school family chooses a bead to place in the
bowl, and new children and staff are welcomed by selecting a bead and
adding it to the bowl in the presence of the school family.

Each week, the themes for collective worship are planned to give the
children a variety of opportunities to reflect on their own lives and to think of
others. Sometimes a theme is linked to a charity event such as UNICEF or
Operation Christmas Child in which children and staff are asked to think
specifically about the lifestyles of others and how they can help them.
Every half term a theme is planned so that relationships and bullying can
be considered. The theme of Saints, for example, highlighted that many
saints were persecuted, but had the courage to stand up to bullies. The
children could reflect on when they had been brave enough to stand up to
a bully for themselves or on someone elses behalf. This is also linked to
discussions in PSD and circle time.

Sometimes the children are given a visual stimulus. After looking with
wonder at a series of slides of the natural world during winter, the children
were left with the magnified image of a single snowflake and encouraged to
reflect on the uniqueness of the snowflake and of themselves.

The pattern and symmetry of nature has cross-curricular links with subjects
such as mathematics and art. We have considered how opportunities for
reflection can be given across the curriculum, without being too contrived.
In RE, for example, learning about the Torah enabled Yr 6 children to
consider their own rules for living, particularly those they had drawn up for
creating a positive learning environment in their own classroom. In PE and
art, Yr 2 children used dance and painting to explore different types of
weather, and to consider how various climates determine the existence of
different plants and creatures in Gods world. A PSD-based Healthy
Heroes activity week had a spiritual health strand, with local church
members organising activities and workshops.

Children are encouraged to think about how an individuals behaviour

affects other members of the school community. Both adults and children
are encouraged to share in praising and rewarding individuals. At the end
of each day, each class considers, with their teacher and other helpers,
which child has earned the title of Child of the Day. Whilst this may reflect
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effort put into work, it is equally likely to acknowledge a particularly kind or
helpful action. We use a Celebrations Board and Good Work-Good Deed
Board to commend childrens achievements and actions.

The childrens involvement in the school environment supports their

spiritual development. Demolition of old decrepit classrooms created extra
space and, through the School Council, children suggested how they would
like the space to be used. In addition to a sports area, playground games, a
pond and lawned area, the children requested an area to get away from the
hustle and bustle of the playground. As a result, a small sunken garden
was created, with benches to sit on. Having decided on a theme of Gods
wonderful world, every child and adult painted a cobble stone which was
set into a centrepiece around the tree. This echoes the idea of the school
bowl. The garden is well used by small groups and individuals. Some
children use it as a quiet place to go to sort out problems and to mend
friendships, others sit and read, and some just like to sit by themselves to
think. It provides a quiet haven within a noisy and active environment.

Which aspects of this schools practice do you do already?

Are there any you might adopt (with appropriate adaptation)?

Where do relationships and values come in?

The question who am I? cannot be asked without asking where do

I fit in? Spirituality is often seen as a solitary, emotional, interior
activity. But this is too narrow a view. We become who we are in the
context of relationships. Hay and Nye (1998) emphasise the
importance of relationships as the foundation of spirituality. They use
the term relational consciousness with four layers:

child/self;
child/people;
child/world; and
child/God (or a Transcendent Other).

Tiny infants are literally working out the difference between

themselves and other people. Starting with an insistent emphasis on
the self, young children explore their relationship with other people
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and the world around. The older the child, the more s/he may
consider consciously what, if anything, lies beyond the physical
world. The younger the child, the more this search for meaning
involves exploration rather than final answers. These are, in one
sense, stages of development; but even as adults we constantly
seek answers in all four areas.

Increasingly, we have come to recognise that we are in a linked

relationship with our environment and that we cannot plunder it
without consequences for other people and forms of life. The
increased speed of travel and global communication means that
what happens in one part of the world affects people elsewhere far
more, and more quickly, than previously. This highlights the
importance of interdependence on a global scale. However,
interdependence - or in Fairbairns words, mature dependence -
works at a more personal level. I have spent most of my life
emphasising my own independence and autonomy, but I am
increasingly aware that I am part of networks of relationships and
traditions which affect me very profoundly. Most of you, especially
women, probably reached this awareness long ago! In Hulls words
(1998: 66) spirituality exists not inside people, but between them.

Spiritual experience is not just an individual, internal process, but

contributes to how we become integrated into this wider framework
of relationships. Nor is it simply emotional, even if experiences such
as listening to Martin Luther Kings speeches are often considered
spiritual. But why do we not think of Hitlers speeches at Nuremberg
as spiritual? Or do we? They were very compelling and contained a
strong moral (though distorted) message. Only by linking spiritual
experience to values can we determine if it is authentic. Otherwise
selfish or even abusive activities, such as self-indulgence or the
actions of a serial killer, could be considered spiritual. Emotional and
moral experience may be, or act as routes into, spiritual
experience, but the spiritual element comes when this relates to
meaning, identity and purpose. I think of the integration of the
personality as the aim of spiritual experience (or development) and
closely linked to mental well-being. But this is not a fixed target. Just
as we may be more, or less, healthy, we may become more, or less,
integrated. Spiritual experience is always a dynamic process
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Moving towards a definition

However we try to define spiritual experience or spirituality, we never

quite manage to capture what it is exactly. Below are two definitions:
the first that of Andrew Wright, the second my own.

spirituality is the relationship of the individual, within community and

tradition, to that which is or is perceived to be of ultimate concern,
ultimate value, and ultimate truth, as appropriated through an informed,
sensitive and reflective striving for spiritual wisdom (Wright, 2000: 104)

spiritual experience is that which enables, or enhances, greater

personal integration within a framework of relationships by fostering
exploration, conscious and otherwise, of identity and purpose, trans-
cending the current level of self-knowledge and altering, or regaining,
appropriate perspectives and values.

Different definitions provide new insights and angles on something

inherently elusive, but most emphasise that spiritual development is
about things that really matter, not just at the moment, but
considered from a wider perspective. Spiritual experience relates to
fundamental and universal questions by which people seek to
understand themselves and their place in something bigger than
they are. So it is something wider than religious experience,
although a religious framework helps many people in this search.

Certain things about ourselves do not change, but how we

understand ourselves - the story we tell of who we are - is, I believe,
constantly changing. For example, who your parents were, your
having become a parent (if you have), and certain common human
needs will never change. But many aspects which make up who you
are do change - jobs, friendships, roles, places you live in. This
highlights that we have multiple identities, depending on who we are
speaking to or the situation we are in. I present myself differently
when with my mother from when I am teaching a class, when I arrive
in a foreign country or playing a game of squash. This is one reason
why the relationships, both with people and the world around, which
we form and which form us, are so important in how we understand
ourselves.

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 Exploring what is distinctive about spiritual
Experience

How does spiritual experience relate to religious faith?

Spiritual experience can be seen as overlapping with four other

types of experience, namely the religious, emotional, moral and
aesthetic. Unless there is something distinctive about spiritual, the
word would be best avoided. Exploring how these overlap may
make the distinctive elements clearer.

In English schools, spiritual development used to be understood

only in relation to religious (usually Christian) faith. Several factors
make a wider and more inclusive understanding necessary,
including:

the considerable reduction in church attendance;

the growth of many other faith communities, especially Islam,
Sikhism and Hinduism;
the more individualised approach to belief and values,
associated with increasing secularisation and consumerism.

Much of the language and practice of spirituality is rooted historically

within religion. Even those outside religious traditions can draw from
this, but teachers cannot assume a tradition of Christian worship and
belief, even in Church schools. Many pupils, especially in big cities,
will be active members of other faiths. Everywhere, many children
will have little knowledge, or experience, of religious belief or
worship. Most teachers agree that children should learn about such
stories as Noahs Ark and the parable of the Good Samaritan, about
the importance of the Bible and other holy books and religious
practices and festivals. These are part of a common cultural heritage
and of knowledge about others which leads to greater understanding
and respect. However, religious beliefs are seen as more dangerous

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ground, both because believers think other people cannot do justice
to them and non-believers are suspicious of indoctrination.
Many teachers would see spiritual development - if schools have
any role in this - as largely dealt with in RE and assembly. In my
research, almost all the teachers referred to the link with religion,
even when saying that religion should have no place in school!
However, I suggest that it is about more basic, wider-ranging needs
beyond the boundaries of religion, as seekers-of-meaning. In one
teachers words, an Anglican in a Roman Catholic school, If you
chopped religion off, you would still have to do the spiritual.

One problem of making the link too closely with religious traditions is
that those opposed to religion itself, or concerned about
indoctrination, discard spirituality along with religion. Many
adolescents and adults reject religion because of an insistence on
adherence to a set of beliefs and doctrines. I am convinced that
young children have authentic spiritual experience, separate from
beliefs, a distinction I find helpful. Robinson (1977) investigated the
memories of hundreds of people about what they called spiritual
experiences. This indicated that such childhood experiences were, if
not universal, at least very common and had made profound
impressions, recalled vividly many decades later.

It is hard to see who is better placed than teachers to equip children

to approach questions of meaning and identity thoughtfully, if their
parents do not and if they are outside a faith tradition. It is also
important, but not easy, for teachers to help children brought up
within a faith tradition to make sense of these fundamental questions
respecting and drawing on the insights of their faith, as well as
helping all children do so without introducing conflict or confusion.

Points for consideration

What do you think that RE for young children should entail
Bible stories, facts about other faiths, common religious themes
and values, the experience of worship, or none of these?
How should we respond to the religious faith of children in a
minority in the school - should they have to join in with practices
associated with another faith tradition?
If you teach in a community school, do you see it as your role to
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 support childrens religious faith and, if so, how do you do it?

Is spiritual anything more than emotional development?

How we learn depends very considerably on our emotions. Think

how intense emotion, like fear or grief, stops us learning. Research
on how the brain works indicates that intense emotion overcomes
some of the inhibitory mechanisms required for our brains to work
normally. Learning depends on appropriate challenges, but too
great a challenge, or emotional turmoil, rapidly affects our learning
ability. We need both haven and challenge, to different degrees and
at different times. Young childrens emotional needs are so great,
and often so immediate, that we judge their level of maturity largely
by how well they are able to control their emotional responses.
Childrens conscious patterns of learning in particular are disrupted
by an inability to process emotional responses appropriately. The
younger the child, the more true this seems to be.

Some teachers (of four- and five- year olds) in my research saw little
difference between spiritual maturity and more general, emotional,
maturity. When asked if the idea of spiritual maturity or awareness made
any sense to them and, if so, what the features of a spiritually mature child
are, to my surprise, most could do so.

Think of a specific child whom you see as spiritually aware or

mature: which characteristics lead you to this assessment?
Which distinctive elements or qualities are not simply signs of
emotional maturity?

Many people equate spiritual experience with intense emotional

experience, like falling in love, hearing a favourite piece of music or
seeing a beautiful sunset. Emotional and creative activities can be
triggers of or routes into spiritual experience, but they can easily
be self-indulgent. To decide whether any experience - however
wonderful, trivial or unpleasant - which someone claims as spiritual
is authentic, the answer in part relates to whether it is of value. I like

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the response of one teacher I worked with who spoke of the
teachers role as responding to moments of significance.
All children need the chance to address what is significant to them
but we can never entirely know what this consists of. For teachers,
large classes and a very busy curriculum exacerbates this. What
children feel intensely about may offer good clues. Young children
may be upset at what, to an adult, seems something trivial. It is
therefore important to:

encourage and listen to childrens questions;

attend to them, especially when they are upset.

Helping children to articulate their feelings, and to hear others doing

so, for instance in circle times, can help:

the child and those listening to explore together issues of

significance;
the teacher to understand the childs worries and beliefs better.

How does spiritual development relate to moral

development?

The teachers in my research linked moral and spiritual development

closely but spiritual experience is more than simply learning about
right and wrong. Our moral choices and the values we espouse both
determine and indicate the sort of people we become.

Our values are central to who we are and how we act. Mass media
and advertising offer values based primarily on individual
consumption and instant gratification. Their appealing, and carefully
manipulated, messages promote transient values. Spiritual
experience challenges children to consider longer-term, maybe
eternal, values. Our culture tends to see values as individualised, a
sort of pick-and-mix, with no commonly agreed basis. But values
need a basis beyond individual preference, whatever debate there
may be about what this is; maybe religious faith, a common culture,
law and regulation or common, universal human values. While this is
a complicated debate, neither anything-goes or whatever I say is
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an adequate basis for values. Judgements about right and wrong
must always be based in the values of a community and a tradition.
Think how children learn values. Explicit teaching of rules and
conscious consideration of values, such as having a value of the
month, are important. The role of stories is easily overlooked.
Stories nearly always include a conflict of values and then a
resolution, with good ultimately triumphing. Hearing, and thinking
about, stories helps children develop their own sense of values. But
explicit teaching is only part of the answer. Children learn morality
and values primarily by being incorporated into a moral community,
by example and being part of a tradition where values are lived. A
communitys values are embedded in how people treat each other.
All schools have a role in this. However good your mission
statement or policies, who we are, as teachers and as people, is far
more important. What you say matters; what you do matters more.

All teachers and parents want their children to learn positive values
(or say they do). Most people agree on the importance of such
values as honesty, respect, justice and loyalty, often considered
universal values. But this issue is far from simple. First, what about
where the values of a family or culture clash with those of the
school? Second, what values mean in practice is often unclear, as
they are more culturally dependent than we imagine. Think what
justice means in relation to issues like the appropriate punishment
for murder or whether people should be free to say what they wish.
Third, what about when different values come into conflict with each
other? For instance, when one is asked to lie to protect a friend who
has done something wrong, loyalty and justice suggest different
courses of action. While teachers may wish to keep messages
simple, helping children recognise and think through moral dilemmas
helps them learn what really matters to them. The specific values we
espouse are important, but the message that life is not value-free
and that how we act matters is even more so.

Points for consideration

How much are values a matter of individual choice?
What is the basis of your, and your schools, values?
How does your school demonstrate the values it claims to
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 espouse?

Is spiritual experience just about awe and wonder?

Many adults link spiritual experience strongly with the creative arts
and beauty, such as music, a work of art or nature. Activities like art,
music and drama are closely associated with the search for meaning
because they encourage imagination and offer a different way of
knowing and understanding from conscious, rational thought. These
can operate at a pre-linguistic level affecting aspects of ourselves of
which we may not be conscious. Yet they are very concrete, which is
especially important for children. They enable young children to be
active participants and to work thoughtfully over time, rather than
inviting an instant response.

One phrase teachers often associate with spiritual development is

awe and wonder - where children experience what is wonderful and
mysterious, such as the pattern on a butterfly or the immensity of
space. Think briefly why these are important or are considered
spiritual. It seems that this is largely because they help to put things
into perspective and take us away from a concentration only on
ourselves to consider other people and the bigger picture. Spiritual
experience helps one gain a sense of perspective and of ones place
in the bigger scheme. Without this, spiritual may refer only to what
is individual, internal and enjoyable. Most of us associate spiritual
experience with what is pleasant and life enhancing - the wild sea, a
great speech, the birth of a baby. However, what is most significant
must include both these wonderful moments and challenging and
difficult experiences like death, loss and separation.

Points for consideration

Is the divorce of a childs parents related to his or her spiritual
needs?
Is a tragedy like the death of a child a spiritual experience?
What is your (adult) response to awful events like Auschwitz?
Whatever your answer, what do these tell you about how you

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 understand spiritual experience?

Is spiritual experience always pleasant?

What is significant is, inevitably, at times also painful. Rightly we do

not think about painful issues all the time, but they are central to who
we are and how we fit in. They come to the fore especially at times
of illness, bereavement or the start or end of significant
relationships. This can be deeply unsettling, often making us re-
assess questions of identity, meaning and purpose.

Adults often assume that young children do not consider potentially

painful issues. You may know of children not being allowed to attend
the funerals of grandparents, or to discuss experiences which adults
find painful, because they are too young to understand. To protect
children, we tend to stop them talking about what puzzles them or
say that everything will be alright, when (often) it will not.

Children need to make sense of potentially painful situations, like

separation, or whether their parents still love them. Not only the
events but the fear of them can be very debilitating. Jung described
the shadow side of our personality, the difficult and troublesome
aspects, which keeps re-appearing if suppressed rather than
addressed. Precisely because young children find it hard to put
unpleasant experiences into perspective, apparently quite minor
things may trouble them more than we think. Implicit in thinking of
spiritual experience as universal is that it is part of all teachers role
and responsibility to enable children to explore such issues and not
just to pretend that life is always nice and pleasant.

Addressing such issues with children may evoke painful memories

for us. In saying that we are protecting children, we often protect
ourselves. This is one of the hardest aspects of the teachers role. A
supportive environment in which teachers can be helped to address
potentially painful issues is especially important. It may help to
consider what schools, and teachers, can do:

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 in general; and
when specific incidents occur.
Schools can help children prepare for difficult situations. These
cannot be anticipated but thinking and talking about difficult but
normal situations can help. These might include the death of pets,
another childs illness or the sadness at someone leaving, so that
children get used to thinking about how they, and other people, feel
and learn a language or way of discussing what is upsetting.
Encourage and respond to childrens questions. Specific events with
local or national media coverage, such as the September 11 th
attacks, or the prospect of war, may provide a forum for such
discussions, especially with older primary children. Making reference
to such events, for instance in assemblies, can help children ask
questions if they wish to. Do not imagine that children are unaware,
or do not need to make sense, of such events.

It is difficult to know how, and how much, to raise difficult issues and
to find the balance between giving children permission to ask
questions and intruding. These general points may help:

recognise the specific circumstances of individual children, eg

where parents have recently separated or a recent bereavement;
be aware of cultural and religious sensitivities so that, as far as
possible, the familys wishes as you understand them would be
respected;
be honest and admit that you do not know the answers rather
than offering dishonest but sentimental solutions;
try to imagine how the child is feeling;
attend to childrens actual questions.

It is hard to generalise about helping children make sense of

significant but painful situations when they arise, because each one
is so different. Very often when they occur we feel paralysed by the
intensity of our emotions. Some way of talking and thinking about
these emotions, and having created a context where they can be
thought about together, helps - a bit. But be sensitive to the fact that
a child is likely to want to address these, at his or her own pace,

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maybe through talking or silence, through art or play. So try to find
the balance between being unintrusive, but available.

When really serious situations arise, the school must address them.
The case study below of how one school community responded to a
childs death offers some insights into how to approach really tragic
and painful situations.

One of the hardest tasks facing any headteacher is to help the school
community - staff, parents and children - respond appropriately to a pupils
death. During the summer holidays, one little girl, a Muslim, in my Church
of England first school died in a house fire, together with her older brother.
Some of her family, including a cousin, had been in the house but survived.
All the school community knew about what had happened, but members of
her family, her friends and her class were especially sad at her death.

Our immediate concerns were to:

offer support to the family and the community;

be sensitive to their religious and cultural wishes;
think how, as a school community, we could address our collective
sadness;
support her friends in school to come to terms with this tragedy.

Among other things, we decided to:

seek outside help;

find ways to support each other through our pain;
be open with parents and children about our sadness;
hold a special assembly to express our collective sorrow;
enable her friends to talk about their grief, and access professional
help where need be;
provide a permanent memorial by creating a special garden.

Three elements may be highlighted:

address issues as a large group, maybe involving ritual, as this
helps to give permission for individual conversation, without
imposing too much on children less involved;
remember ones own needs and emotions and those of
colleagues;
20
 seek outside help in really difficult situations from professionals
such as Educational Psychologists or Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

Working out the implications for teachers

Do young children develop spiritually?

Many people doubt what spirituality means in relation to young

children. This, in part, is why we need to see spiritual experience
separate from religious beliefs and practices or moral and ethical
choices. However, a strong tradition, including the words of Jesus,
suggests that young children have qualities and abilities which make
them especially open to spiritual experience, with some of these lost
or at least suppressed as we move into adulthood.

Earlier I suggested that the term spiritual development is

problematic. Spiritual development does not seem to work just like
physical or intellectual development, progressing through a series of
stages, on an upward gradient. Spiritual experience may be seen as
part of a personal journey which teachers and others can enhance,
or hold back, and thus part of a process of development. Spiritual
development certainly seems more fluid than other sorts of
development. We get better at certain techniques and become more
mature in many related areas but children have qualities which are
lost or harder to re-capture as adults. These qualities include:

joy;
curiosity;
openness and trust;
a lack of self-importance;
a sense of mystery and wonder.

Many factors leads us as adults to lose or suppress these. We

become more fixed in our beliefs. In most areas, this is helpful as it
21
makes it easier to generalise and to discard unimportant information.
However, it may make adults more reliant on one approach to
learning and reluctant to ask very basic questions. Childrens
willingness to ask nave but searching questions may make them
especially open to spiritual experience. A wish to avoid
embarrassment may make adults less open and trusting. A desire
for status and power may make us more self-important. Cynicism
may result in our suppressing a sense of mystery and wonder.

Points for consideration

Do young children have other (positive) qualities and abilities
which we lose, as we become adults?
What causes adults to lose these?

What can we learn by looking at very young children?

In my research I considered what the psychoanalytic tradition can

teach us. Bowlbys (1965) work with infants highlights the
importance of very early relationships and, especially, what he calls
attachment to the mother. How this attachment is formed affects us
throughout our lives more deeply than we tend to recognise. In a
very real sense, early relationships and love make us who we are.

Young children need to develop a secure sense of self or ego. This

involves moving away from being centred on ones own needs, as
young children are. They need to learn to understand the world as if
from other peoples perspectives. In encountering and
understanding difference and diversity, children are enabled
gradually to learn about what is common to humanity and what
makes each individual distinctive.

Even very young children try to make sense of the world. In Bruners
(1996) words, children are agents, active learners constantly altering
their framework of understanding to try to incorporate new, often
puzzling, experience. We grow, we find meaning in life, and security
in ourselves, by actively understanding and solving personal

22
problems. It may help to think of the story - often called the personal
narrative - that we tell about ourselves. As new events occur, we tell
a new story. We do this throughout our lives, but especially so as
children, because their understanding is less fixed, more fluid.
Do not forget the importance of play. Winnicott, a psychoanalyst,
writes (1988: 66), it is in playing and only in playing that the
individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole
personality. It is only in being creative that the individual discovers
the self. Play gives the chance to:

re-arrange the world without having to bear all the

consequences;
pretend to be someone or somewhere different;
explore feelings and responses to new situations;
ask ones own questions at ones own pace.

All children need to play to understand themselves. Drama offers

many similar opportunities. Creative people are usually those still
able to be playful right into adulthood.

The National Curriculum and the National Literacy and Numeracy

Strategies emphasise conscious learning deliberately engineered by
the teacher. This is important, but much of our learning happens less
consciously and explicitly. Young children, especially, learn directly,
kinaesthetically and visually, rather than just through language.
Many of our most important beliefs are learnt through role-modelling
and habit, by-passing consciousness. Have we not all seen how
children pick up what we do - including annoying habits - much more
than what we say? The familys and schools culture and
environment are especially important in implicit learning. This is not
like the automatic response drilled into a soldier, but more like this is
how we respond in this sort of situation. Prior experience and the
context helps to provide a structure which guides us towards
appropriate actions and away from inappropriate

Rather than seeing development as a series of stages, Donaldson

(1993) suggests that young children add to a repertoire of modes of
learning, but with some earlier modes remaining appropriate for

23
different situations throughout life. We can help children and adults
access different modes of learning. For instance, certain traditions,
especially in Christianity and Buddhism, emphasise the value of
reflection and silence. Think for a moment why this is important.
We are often enriched by emptying and doing less, rather than filling
ourselves up and trying harder. This can help adults to recover some
of the positive qualities of childhood outlined above. We all benefit
from silence, and the opportunity simply to be, rather than always to
do. Children need the chance for, and the habit of, quiet and
reflection rather than constant noise and bombardment of images
and information. Although this needs practice, at least initially, and
children, especially those who lead chaotic and over-full lives, often
find it hard, silence and reflection enables children (and adults):

to be less overwhelmed by immediate emotions and desires;

to step out of the busy-ness and pressures of everyday life.

This lessens the dominance of rationality, allowing the unconscious

and lateral thinking to operate. This moves us away from what is
called left-brain activity, involving language, analysis, and conscious
effort, rather than a right-brain approach, based more on emotion,
creativity, and making connections. Learning requires space as well
as pace. We have all known times when we cant resolve a problem
however hard we try - yet in the morning the solution is obvious. Our
unconscious has been at work. This summary is oversimplified but
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind (Claxton, 1997) is a fascinating and
accessible discussion of learning other than through conscious
effort.

Where does all this fit into the curriculum?

Teachers, and teaching, have become dominated by the curriculum.

Yet to take Spiritual Development seriously is to recognise that the
central purposes of education lie beyond the curriculum (Gloucester
Diocese: 13). This is not only just a matter of values and ethos, but
of how teachers teach and help children learn. While the content of
what is taught is important, too much emphasis on this leads often to
a concentration on low-level factual information. Enabling children

24
to be reflective, creative, curious, playful and critical - sometimes
included among higher-order skills - encourages spiritual
experience and greater self-understanding. Ironically, these may be
the key to raising academic standards, as well.
Potentially, opportunities for spiritual development appear anywhere in the
curriculum. The danger is that this too easily means nowhere. Opportunities
in particular subject areas include:

25
 Personal Circle time helps children think and talk together on
and social matters of significance and listen to other childrens
education views. Helping children talk about their feelings makes
dealing with difficult situations easier.
Assembly
and Enables a large group to think together about issues
Collective of morality, values and significance and to reflect, or
Worship pray, perhaps briefly, in silence, or to music. Such
gatherings establish/reinforce the schools values.

When well taught, RE offers children insight into how

Religious different people address fundamental questions and
Education religious believers understand and respond to these.
This can support and enrich the faith of children from
religious families and extend the horizons of others.

Stories, help children makes sense of their lives and

English internalise values. Poetry is an obvious source of
nurturing childrens imagination and helping them see
the world from different perspectives.

Art Creative subjects offer children different, reflective

and ways of making sense of their experiences. It is
Music important for children to appreciate other peoples
creativity and be imaginative and creative themselves.

Opportunities include expressing oneself through

PE movement and learning to work together. One much
under-rated area is drama where children can
experience what it is like to feel, or be, someone else.

Can help children to recognise patterns and

Science relationships, experience the mystery of space and
the natural world and ask fundamental questions
about the start and ending of life.

This list is far from complete, leaving out important areas such as
maths, history, geography and ICT. In maths, the exploration of
pattern, or ideas like infinity, encourage consideration of the bigger
26
picture and the mysterious. In history, or geography, to empathise
with people from other times and cultures is vital in understanding
who we are and how we fit in.

Choose one of these subjects and write some activities/

approaches you think can contribute to spiritual development.
You do not have to be an expert to recognise these possibilities.
Indeed, being an expert can make a teacher concentrate too much
on answers rather than questions.

Think also which aspects or approaches do not encourage spiritual

development. Often they are those where the answer is pre-
determined and childrens curiosity and imagination is not
stimulated. Such activities can be worthwhile, but they must not
dominate the curriculum.

How can teachers plan for spiritual development?

It is difficult to plan for what may happen at any time. So the

classroom environment is vital, especially its culture and
expectations. For instance, if children:

do not respect each others views, other children are unlikely to

express their feelings;
are constantly bombarded with information, there is too little
space for reflection; and
are discouraged from being curious, imaginative, or co-
operative, they are unlikely to develop these abilities.

However good your written plans, remember the importance of

creating the right context. There are numerous opportunities in what
most teachers do anyway. But planning also involves looking out for,
and creating, opportunities, being sufficiently flexible and brave to
follow them when they arise and giving children permission to
explore, sometimes alone, often together, what really matters.

27
Record situations and experiences through which you hope to
stimulate children to ask the sorts of question we have considered.

I am not suggesting any particular written planning format. However,

for medium-term plans, it is worth thinking about opportunities in
different subject areas as above and discussing the possibilities with
other colleagues. This is often more fruitful than doing it alone.

In short-term planning, you need (obviously) to consider content and

learning objectives. The challenge is to be sensitive to when
moments of significance occur and flexible to alter your plan. This
requires some courage, but if a child is distressed by bullying, a
snowstorm starts or a rainbow appears, surely it is more important to
respond to these than stick doggedly to subtraction or the magic e?

Do all children need the same approach?

All children have a set of common needs. Some groups may have
additional needs, often because their home-life meets these only
partially and may at times need different approaches or challenges.

Children with special needs vary greatly according to need. Those

who find learning to read and write difficult, may find creative
subjects especially important in building self-esteem and identity.
Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties are likely to find
reflection on the consequences of their actions, empathy for other
children and quiet reflection hard. Opportunities to develop these in
a safe environment through play or activities which bring success
and self-esteem may help.

Most classes will contain children from families where

relationships at home have broken down. Addressing many, often
quite small, matters sensitively - for example when working on
families or sending letters home - helps the child not to feel excluded
or uncomfortable about the family background. They may wish, but
should not be forced, to discuss these relationships individually.
Schools cannot resolve the problems of children from very troubled
backgrounds, such as asylum seekers, looked-after children, or

28
those from violent or uncaring homes; but school may be the safest
place they know. They too need appropriate challenges, but if a child
is hungry or scared of violence or abuse this is likely to cause
distress and hinder learning. In particular, be careful to avoid asking
them to talk about distressing incidents except when they wish to.

The needs of those from homes where religion is important can

be overlooked, especially in community schools or where, in church
schools, they are not Christians. While children need to learn that
faith traditions express their understanding in different ways, the
schools role is to support and enrich the understanding developed
at home. By recognising and valuing faith, teachers can support this,
even where they do not share it.

Since identity depends so much on culture, home and school may

often present children from minority ethnic backgrounds with
differing expectations. Teachers have an important role in ensuring
that children are incorporated appropriately into the school culture,
while celebrating their own heritage and cultural roots.

How boys and girls needs differ is a contentious area arousing

strong feelings. Boys, in general, are often encouraged not to
express emotion or vulnerability and often find it harder to be
reflective. Girls may subtly learn to be passive, or to focus too much
on their appearance. Such traits may work against an integrated and
secure personality. Girls greater ability to make intimate
relationships may make them more open to spiritual experience.

Points for consideration

How do you make provision in this respect for the children with
special educational needs in your class?
Would you add any other groups?
In what ways, if any, is spiritual experience different for boys and
girls?

29
 Reflecting on the whole-school implications

Where does spiritual development fit into legislation and

the inspection framework?

In the 1944 Education Act, LEAs were charged to contribute

towards the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of the
community What was meant by the spiritual was (deliberately) not
too closely defined. The 1988 Act said schools were to provide for
the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of
children. The 1992 Act referred to the more familiar spiritual, moral,
social and cultural. All this legislation placed the spiritual very
prominently, without quite saying what it entailed. The important
difference after 1992 was that all schools were to be inspected on
this. Trying to establish a common understanding, among and
between, teachers and inspectors, of what it meant became urgent.

The series of guidance documents which followed in the 1990s

varied in quality and impact and were only partially successful in
establishing this understanding. One problem is that making such
judgements remained, and will always remain, largely subjective,
which sits uneasily with the evidence-based approach of the Ofsted
Framework for Inspection. However, inspectors make judgements
about the provision for spiritual development in all schools, as part of
the regular inspection process. For Church Aided schools, there is a
separate denominational inspection of collective worship and
Religious Education, which also comments on spiritual, moral,
cultural and social development. For Voluntary Controlled schools,
this is the same, except that RE is not included.

Spiritual development affects and involves every aspect of school

life and the whole school community. Remember how vital support
staff, caretakers, lunchtime staff and secretaries can be in this. A
schools ethos is often implicit and intangible, but easily recognised,
even on a short visit, in such things as how adults speak to children,
visitors are welcomed, and childrens work is displayed. While an

30
inspection report about the provision for spiritual development can
be valuable in suggesting issues to be addressed, this is based on a
snapshot judgement. Self-evaluation is especially important to
assess and address implicit, less measurable issues, such as how a
school community cares for its members, how adults attend to
individual childrens questions and concerns and the relationships
between adult and adult, adult and child and between children.

What are the implications for professional development?

I have emphasised that who we are matters more than what we say.
Children soon recognise a dissonance between words and actions.
The headteachers leadership is especially important in this respect.
A head who attends to the needs of individuals - staff, parents and
children - encourages similar behaviour. One who takes difficult and
puzzling questions seriously helps others to do so. Offering, and
receiving, support and praise, or finding time for reflection and quiet,
nurtures oneself and offers an example to others.

Among the qualities which teachers need to enhance childrens

spiritual development are sensitivity, flexibility, an ability to live with
not knowing all the answers and a willingness to address difficult
issues, none of them qualities easily measured, and all better
nurtured than taught. Unless teachers are able to explore their own
beliefs and values, including what is potentially painful, they will find
it hard to help children do so. Some will find this harder than others,
especially younger teachers, given McCreerys research which
suggests that those who have had children themselves, or been
through difficult experiences, may approach spiritual development
more confidently. Education for spiritual development is not a risk-
free or value-neutral zone. Relationships of mutual support and
permission to address difficult or unfamiliar issues are vital.

The most important professional development activity is for teachers

to talk with other colleagues, in staff and planning meetings, about
what spiritual development entails and what approaches they have
adopted and might try. Knowing where to start and getting started
can be daunting. Courses and visits to other schools to learn about
other schools approaches can help, and inspection may pinpoint
31
specific issues. A sympathetic outsider - for church schools maybe a
diocesan adviser - often helps, especially at first or where sensitive
issues are to be addressed. It is usually best to start with safer
areas, but at some point you will touch on sensitive matters.

Writing a policy can be a useful way in to establishing common goals

and highlighting aspects already in place. However, like all policies
those on spiritual development too easily gather dust. What counts
is the time put into discussion and into thinking about what has
been, and can be, done.

Whatever you do, do not ignore spiritual development because

you are too busy. Even if you come up with quite different
conclusions, try to discuss and evaluate regularly what really
matters. Too often, we discuss what is trivial but seems urgent, and
put off what matters but does not need immediate attention.

What are the implications for schools serving particular

types of community?

Spiritual development is important for all children and all schools, not
just Church schools or those teachers teaching RE. The search for
meaning, purpose and identity is part of our common humanity, but
there is no one-size-fits-all approach, one universal menu, as all
schools and the children in them have diverse needs. Sue Matthew,
head of a Church of England (Aided) primary school in central
Oxford, writes:

St. Ebbes serves an ethnically and socially diverse community. Our

families fit every description of what a family might be. Some live in flats
and houses, others bed and breakfast, some in university colleges. As a
Church school our aims and ethos are based on Christian Values. Our
Trust Deed makes it clear we are to serve our community so we welcome
children from many faiths: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and those
not following any religion.

We see spirituality in broad terms: certainly not in the narrow definition of

religious faith. It is to do with relationships, how we treat each other - all of
us in our school community. Children are seen as full people with rights

32
and responsibilities everyone contributing towards making our community
work positively and inclusively. Crucial to this is respecting diversity
knowing that each persons faith and ideas matter to them and therefore to
all of us. This includes discussions of difficult and painful issues such as
death, family breakdown and differing expectations at home and school.

At the heart of this is listening: to childrens concerns, joys, needs, and

troubles - both individually and in groups through circle time and
assemblies. But spirituality is embedded in all discussions across the
curriculum, because relationships are key - and always present. Respect
for ideas and each childs worth is part of all our school life not just limited
to certain spirituality sessions.

Below are some reflections on possible opportunities and challenges

in different types of school. Schools are always more complex
places than they appear - if we take the trouble to find out.

Multi-faith schools provide great opportunities for children to

learn about diversity and particular challenges for teachers in
being sensitive to what is very important to families but possibly
unfamiliar to teachers.
Urban schools may offer rich cultural opportunities, but often
include more children who lead less settled, more chaotic lives
with less stable family and other relationships.
In homogeneous schools, it may be easier to establish settled
traditions, but less so to raise the awareness of children about
cultural and religious diversity.
Small schools may foster closer relationships, but larger schools
can enable children to experience a wider range of approaches
and relationships.

Points for consideration

What are the particular challenges and opportunities presented

in your school community and context?
How much do you think your school should challenge the
prevailing values of society and of the local community?

33
What are the specific implications for Church schools?

All schools can, and do, offer opportunities for spiritual experience
and exploration. Highlighting what is specific to Church schools is
tricky, partly because many community schools provide well for
spiritual development, partly because all schools vary in their
approach and reflect their communitys needs, values and
aspirations. This includes how Church schools understand their role
and seek to fulfil their mission.

Central to Church schools is a belief in the importance of religious

faith. In an increasingly secular world many teachers, consciously or
otherwise, avoid any discussion of how religious faith can influence
our understanding, with Religious Education often consisting largely
of factual information or a bland encouragement to be kind - or not
done at all. Worry about indoctrination rouses great debate and
concern among teachers. In Church schools, it is perhaps easier to
explore an understanding of the world through the stories of faith,
and the lens of religious faith - one reason why Church schools are
often popular with parents of faiths other than Christianity. RE,
imaginatively taught, may be especially valuable in Church schools
as a forum to ask fundamental questions from a standpoint other
than that of secular values. Exploration and questioning rather than
commitment to particular beliefs are what teachers of young children
should encourage most.

Most Church schools mission involves introducing children to a

tradition of worship. They have access to an active worshipping
tradition, for instance by the involvement of local clergy and church
members. Collective worship is a requirement in all schools. A
tradition and community of values and morality can and should
include introducing children to some understanding of worship. This
includes occasions where a group addresses together what is
significant, often in the context of ritual, reflection and respect, rather
than that of a religious service as such. But Church schools may be
able to be more relaxed about worship. In one sense, worship can
only be experienced from within, but involvement in collective

34
worship can introduce children to important, often unfamiliar,
experiences like silence, liturgy and ritual. This helps to support
children from church-going families as well as providing for others
some understanding of worship as an expression of belief in which
they may, in the future, participate fully.

It may be easier in Church schools to discuss the fundamental

issues related to meaning, identity and purpose, as they may reach
the top of the agenda more easily than elsewhere. The
denominational inspection encourages schools to focus on these
aspects specifically.

Some Church of England schools emphasise involvement in

Christian worship and faith strongly, others less so. Some are very
similar to community schools, others have a very distinctive religious
ethos. However, most see it as central to their mission to introduce
children to the language and tradition of faith and to support children
who are members of faith communities.

Roman Catholic schools are, in many ways, part of a distinct cultural

entity, where the practice of liturgy, worship, beliefs and morality are
seen less separately than presented here. The tradition into which
Catholics are incorporated involves school, parish, the wider
Catholic community and the Church itself so that even very young
children are included within Church membership. Developing and
supporting childrens faith is central to the Catholic schools mission.

Since I am not a Catholic and have only spent relatively short times
as a researcher in Catholic schools, I make any observations with
some hesitation. However, as an outsider, it seems to me that
Catholic schools are very inclusive of those who are part of the
school community, from a young age, though young children may
often be involved in what they do not understand. One result is an
openness and warmth in relationships. Often, there seems greater
openness about discussing difficult topics, like death and illness.
Against this, the link with Church membership and specific moral
positions may narrow the scope for curiosity, often leading
adolescents to reject the whole package of religion.

35
One feature visible in the best Church schools, though not only
there, is the sense of a moral community, where children learn about
values and relationships above all through the expectation that this
is how we do things here. This becomes in a sense a tradition, a
continuity providing a structure, both implicit and explicit, within
which the search for meaning and identity is encouraged. This is
especially important as the more familiar structures of home, church
and community, provide this less than in the past.

Points for consideration

How closely are your beliefs about religion reflected in how you
teach?
What do you see as positive and negative aspects of Church
schools? What can they more easily than other schools?
How does your school provide the structure of what is described
here as a moral community?

How did one school start to develop a whole-school

approach?

Shahne Vickery, the Schools Adviser for the Gloucester Diocese,

describes how one school started to develop a whole-school
approach:

St Catherines Church of England Primary School is a rural village school

in the Forest of Dean, not a particularly affluent area. Of the 77 pupils, 33
are on the Special Needs Register, with the percentage of children entitled
to free school meals above the national average.

A Denominational Inspection identified some very positive ways in which

the school was expressing its Christian foundation and a variety of
opportunities that the staff were creating to foster and develop the
childrens spiritual life, but identified the following key issue: To bring
together the many features promoting pupils spiritual development in a
written statement to complete the policies on pupils personal development.
The head prepared an action plan in consultation with the staff and

36
governing body. Shortly afterwards, I was asked to lead two twilight INSET
meetings to:
establish a working definition for spiritual development meaningful for
the school;
develop a whole school policy for the provision of opportunities for
spiritual development;
review existing examples of good practice and find ways to build on
these to extend the provision across the school more systematically.

I began the first session by outlining a brief history and explanation of how
thinking about childrens spirituality has developed in recent years. We
looked at materials produced by the Christian Education Movement (CEM)
to focus on the kind of environment most conducive to facilitating childrens
spiritual development, e.g. where pupils are:
valued as individuals and taught to value others;
fostered in their emotional lives;
given opportunities to express their questions, insights, wonder,
uncertainty and faith;
encouraged to set aside moments for reflection and group discussion
of the nature, value and worth to life and their own development of
what is being studied.

CEM suggests a range of experiences that might contribute to pupils

spiritual development:
personal reflection
stillness and silence
recognising and expressing their innermost thoughts, feelings, beliefs
being enabled to express insights creatively and imaginatively
sharing and exploring deeper questions
reflecting on the challenging experiences of life and considering
different responses to these
listening to, learning about and valuing the beliefs, values and feelings
of others
exploring lives which exemplify qualities universally valued
developing an understanding that individuals can change things for
better or worse
raising awareness of the hurt caused by unkind behaviour
experiencing and valuing the natural world and their part in it
valuing and encouraging a sense of wonder and mystery
exploring beauty, order, pattern and purpose in the natural world
celebrating and being celebrated.

37
I then shared some ways in which I have used particular texts, music,
artefacts and other resources as stimuli to provide opportunities for these.
At the end of the session I asked the teachers to review the past two terms
teaching and identify some moments that they felt had been significant in
promoting childrens spiritual development in their class.

The second session, a week later, was a chance for the teachers to share
some of these experiences together. At the end the teachers felt that they
were now in a position to develop a policy document that would be
meaningful and useful. A member of staff was elected to work on this with
the head. It was decided that rather than developing a separate audit of
opportunities for spiritual development, the policy itself would contain a
variety of practical examples of how individual members of staff had
created such opportunities with their classes.

Points for consideration

What surprises you about the approach adopted by this school?
Should schools involve other groups in this work - parents,
Governors, non-teaching staff, children? If so, how?
What, if anything, do you think this school needs to do in six
Months time?

Looking beneath the surface, beyond the apparent

Throughout this journey I have tried to offer signposts and markers

to inspire you to look at what you do already and to consider what
you might do differently, responding with, yes, I have always thought
that but I had never quite seen it like that, or considered all those
elements linked to spiritual development. Certain elements may
puzzle or annoy you. Some questions, such as what integration
means, have only been touched on. However, even where you
disagree I hope your perspective on spiritual development will be
enriched and that you will see spiritual development as the
responsibility of all teachers and the entitlement of all children.

The pressure of the current standards agenda often seems to leave

little room for spiritual development, especially the lack of time
devoted to the foundation subjects. The result is often superficiality
38
and over-insistent pace. Sometimes we need to do less so that
children learn more. Rather than doing different things, it is a matter
of doing similar things differently, and giving so that children have
the chance to explore identity, meaning and values.

One paradox is that much of what teachers do can be both very

ordinary and yet very significant- like a small comment or an
enthusiasm shared. This is why adults often remember teachers less
for what they said than for a particular incident or personal
response. This entails a perspective on childrens learning which:

emphasises relationships and interdependence;

gives permission to explore what is hard to understand;
helps children to look beneath the surface, beyond the
apparent;
addresses the most significant aspects of existence.

It is tempting to end with a neat conclusion or a story - but that

would be too tidy. Instead, I recall moments from my own teaching,
which seemed to take me - and the children - into something beyond
our everyday concerns and expectations:

Emma transfixed by the beauty of spiders webs glistening

on an autumn morning,
Daniel railing against the unfairness of someone calling him
a racist name,
Paul realising when he saw a man-trap in a museum that what he
had heard about in history had happened to real people,
Gemma asking me during an assembly what my fathers
first name had been,
a group of children gasping as they first stepped into the church
at Long Melford,
and many more,

all real children, all ordinary, but all special. At the time, I did not
think of these as related to spiritual experience - but now I would. By
understanding spiritual experience in new ways, maybe we can, as
teachers, extend such opportunities and enrich the childrens

39
responses to those questions which, as we try to answer them, help
us to understand ourselves.
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