Spiritual Development with the Koinonia Federation
How do we consider the Spiritual Lives of those within our community and through our Curriculum?
As a Federation within the Church of England schools, we strive for our students to be happy, courageous, resilient, motivated, with a life-long love of learning, fully equipped to make a positive contribution. Our vision is lived out through our three key values of Family, Fellowship and Faith.
Underpinning these values is our Christian faith and the understanding that we value the Spiritual development of all our community. It involves each of us knowing who God is, understanding ourselves, relating well to others, appreciating the beauty of the world and reflecting on the deeper meaning of life.
Spirituality, for us, is about finding meaning and purpose in life. It can involve exploring beliefs, seeking personal growth and getting a sense of connection with something bigger than ourselves. It is about having the freedom to ask the big questions. It is about finding connection through beliefs, practices or experiences and maybe finding some sense of peace within ourselves.
As our spiritual lives are an ongoing reflective journey, throughout our curriculum and our daily lives within our Federation ethos, we learn that through curiosity, reflection, awe and wonder, we may learn to live lives full of meaning and purpose. Spirituality can allow us all to develop feelings of love and compassion for all. We encourage age appropriate questioning which deepens the students’ knowledge, experiences, understanding and responses.
As a Christian community we use our faith in God to discover how it feels to be connected to the Creator and His Creation. We explore the ideas of belonging and purpose, relationships, value and worth through the Bible and the nature of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It can involve finding small moments that make life worth living, or through learning, nature or religious practices that we discover something bigger than ourselves. For some that will be a loving, caring God that sent His Son into the world to bring us salvation, to show us joy and compassion, how to grow in confidence, and to show care and respect for all within a diverse community.
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.” John 4 24
As God is spiritual, we who have been made in the image of God are also spiritual.
Biblical spirituality means to be born of God, to be changed by the grace of Jesus Christ, surrendered and obedient to Him, living according to His Word and consequently empowered by the Spirit to help others find life in the Son.
As a staff body, we offer this understanding of spirituality and spiritual development to our community. We model exploring spirituality whilst being offered opportunities ourselves to deepen our own level of understanding. It encourages everyone to flourish as we hope to contribute to the flourishing of others within our schools and in the world around us. We believe that this strengthens us as a Federation family as we grow in faith and spirituality.
Koinonia Federation Summer 2025
(Quotes from our whole staff consultation are presented in italics within this statement.)
We emphasise the spiritual development of all members of our community, rooted in Christian values of Family, Fellowship, and Faith. Spirituality is seen as a journey of reflection, connection, and purpose—encouraging curiosity, awe, and compassion. The curriculum fosters exploration of beliefs and big life questions, aiming to help students understand themselves, relate to others, and connect with something greater.
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.” John 4: 24