Before the summer holidays, children from our 2-Year-Old Provision through to Year 6 took part in the NATRE Spirited Arts Competition, building on our fantastic success last year.

Our previous entries saw Reception and Year 1 become winners in their categories, while Year 2 received a Highly Commended award. We were incredibly proud of these achievements and wanted to build on this success by giving children across the school another opportunity to explore Religious Education through creativity.

Spirited Arts is about much more than producing a piece of artwork. Children encountered religious stories and teachings, asked big questions, considered different perspectives and reflected on what their learning might mean for their own lives. This gave children opportunities to connect their RE learning with our Christian vision, Love in Action – deeds not words, considering how beliefs and values can shape the way we live and treat others.

Throughout the project, children were also encouraged to Look In, Look Out and Look Up – reflecting on themselves and their own experiences, considering other people and the wider world, and exploring questions of faith, God, meaning and purpose.

Wonder, Creation and Care

Our youngest children explored Prayers for All That Lives! Our 2-Year-Olds discovered the wonder of minibeasts and learned that even the smallest living things deserve gentle care. Nursery encountered Christian and Islamic stories about caring for animals, while Reception considered the animals that are special to them and our responsibility to care for and protect God’s world.

Years 1 and 2 responded to Open Bible. Year 1 explored Jacob’s Ladder, reflecting on God’s promise to be with Jacob and considering ideas of presence, hope and comfort.

Year 2 explored The Good Samaritan and Jesus’ teaching to love our neighbour. Their artwork, reflections and prayers considered how compassion can be put into practice, making a meaningful connection with our Christian vision.

One Year 2 pupil explained, “The Good Samaritan didn’t just say he was kind – he stopped and helped.”

Faith, Belonging and Big Questions

Year 3 explored Faith in our Future, Hope in our Future, asking what helps communities to flourish and what can tear them apart. Their collaborative artwork explored kindness, respect, courage, friendship, belonging and peace, alongside challenging questions about racism, prejudice, hatred and bullying. Children considered how teachings from different religions and worldviews encourage us to recognise the value and dignity of others.

Following a visit to St Mary’s Lighthouse, Year 4 explored Sacred Spaces, asking whether somewhere needs to be a traditional place of worship to be sacred. Through art and reflection, children considered the coastline as a place of peace, awe and wonder and explored how the beauty of creation might help people experience God’s presence.

One Year 4 pupil reflected, “I didn’t think a beach could be a sacred space before. It made me think that you could feel close to God somewhere outside too.”

Year 5 tackled perhaps one of the biggest questions of all: “Where is God?” Their artwork and poetry explored whether God might be encountered in the natural world, while also raising more difficult questions about God’s presence when the world is damaged or people experience difficult times. Children discovered that big questions do not always have simple answers and that different religious and non-religious worldviews may offer different perspectives.

Year 6 explored equality, racism and hope for the future. After researching inspirational individuals, pupils created vibrant anti-racism artwork, including Run Like Mo! and Resist Like Rosa! Their learning challenged them to think about human dignity and prejudice, but importantly also about their own responsibility to respond to injustice. They explored the difference between being a bystander and an upstander and considered how they can safely challenge prejudice and discrimination when they encounter it.

As one Year 6 pupil reflected, “I learned that it isn’t enough to disagree with racism in your head. Sometimes you have to be brave enough to stand up for someone else.”

From Reflection to Action

We are incredibly proud of the creativity and thought that went into this year’s entries, but the value of Spirited Arts goes far beyond the competition itself.

From a two-year-old learning to care for a tiny creature to a Year 6 pupil considering how they might challenge injustice, children across our school have had opportunities to wonder, question, reflect and respond.

Through Looking In, Looking Out and Looking Up, children at every stage have explored their own ideas, encountered the beliefs and experiences of others and considered questions that do not always have easy answers. As they move through school, these opportunities become increasingly complex – developing from moments of awe, wonder and care into deeper questions about faith, identity, justice, responsibility and how they can make a difference in the world.

Most importantly, children have discovered that reflection can lead to action – influencing how we treat one another, care for our world and respond when we see something that is not right.

That is our Christian vision in action: Love in Action – deeds not words.