home / schools / godly play / godly play: david stainer's account

Godly Play: David Stainer's account

David Stainer is Headteacher of Foleshill Primary School, Coventry, where Nicky Paxton worked with Godly Play. As the project members met for a final time, David came to join them, together with Trustees from St Christopher's Trust. He gave the following address, sharing some experiences of trialling Godly Play in his school.

We need "to be aware that religious education and spiritual development are not the same, but we need to recognise that religious education can contribute to spiritual development". (OFSTED, Framework for Inspection, 1995)

However, "it can often appear that speech about the spiritual is expressed through a jumble of concepts strung together in such a way that anything means everything or nothing at all." (A Spiritual Dimension for Education, Francis and Thatcher, 1990)

So much that we do in schools today is judged by its measurable outcome. There is a real danger of us thinking that unless children's progress in an area can be judged on a quantifiable scale, numerically based, that increases year on year, that this area can't show 'value added'.

I feel, and so do staff, pupils, parents and governors, that having the opportunity to use Godly Play has really enriched our school. The enrichment that we feel is a qualitative outcome rather than a quantative one; we do not have the tools to measure this enrichment. However much we want to measure the outcome, there is a danger that the more we try to grasp it, the more elusive it becomes.

"Spirituality is like a bird - if you hold it too tightly, it chokes; if you hold it too loosely, it flies away. Fundamental to spirituality, the absence of force." (Things of the Spirit, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, 1993)

We feel that Godly Play has had a really positive impact in our school community, in two distinct ways. Firstly there has been increased, active, response on the part of children, and secondly, a noticeable valuing of each other's contributions. An example of the first came in our assembly preparation. Last autumn term we tried a different way of involving children in our daily assemblies, by asking them to contribute their ideas to a termly or half-termly theme. They then worked in small groups on these ideas, and shared them in assemblies. On the first occasion we had 17 different contributions: just myself and the deputy received the ideas and recorded them. A week last Wednesday we had 54 different contributions from Year 1 to Year 6, and we had five staff members employed in different parts of the hall receiving contributions.

One of the key things that Godly Play does is to allow a range of differing responses to the story, and everyone's response is valued; there is no emphasis on right or wrong answers. Children's responses in Godly Play sessions have been very varied, a picture, a poem, a model, a piece of writing, a design, a conversation, a discussion. Sometimes it might be a reflection; asking "Why?", or, "What does this story mean to me?" But everyone's response is valid and valued.

The larger picture in the school, in many ways, mirrors the Godly Play response. Groups of children help each other to present their contributions, hold microphones, work computers, take photographs, carry out research. Each contribution is valued, no matter how simple, or complex.

In collective worship, each day, children share thoughts while the candle is lit giving us time for reflection. We all regard it as a privilege to hear children's thoughts and concerns.

So, we are building on our Godly Play experiences in the whole of our school community. Other teachers are working with Nicky [the project member], and we will have to wait patiently to see the seeds grow, as people feel confident to learn the range of Godly Play stories.

Thank you, Trustees, for giving us the opportunity of using Godly Play in our school.

<< Previous | End

If you would like to try Godly Play for yourself, explore the Information and Resources available.

	Send an email
	020 7898 1518