School: Spaces for reflection

Pause for Reflection

Our school has set aside a space in the entrance hall for quiet reflection.

The interactive displays are changed half termly and offer children opportunities to reflect on themes such as "What makes me special?" and "New Life".

This display "Woven Together" is based on "Pause for Reflection" a Jumping Fish publication for the Gloucester Diocese.

For more information about Pause for Reflection materials Click here

Quiet Club

Quiet Club is a half hour lunchtime club that takes place in the room that is set up for Godly Play. The focus shelf has a candle, nativity set and figure of the Good Shepherd with a painting of the Risen Christ behind.

Quiet Club offers children the chance to be creative - with art materials (crayons, pastels, paints, playdough, glue) - or work with the Godly Play stories, including the desert box.


There is often a seasonal focus - baskets of wooden fruit and vegetables for harvest; battery candles and red felt flames for Pentecost; crosses, cave and stone for the Easter story.

Quiet Club finishes with prayer; a few of the prayers on the school prayer tree are read out and then a child is chosen to say and sign "The Lord be with you" with the said and signed response: "And also with you."

Despite its name it isn't all that quiet as the children are free to talk while they play or paint!

Reflective Space

Each week we set aside a space in the room set up for the lunchtime Quiet Club and the Godly Play groups. Screens separate it from the rest of the room and cushions are placed on the floor.

Cloths are draped over the furniture and a themed display is set up - for example Harvest or Advent. The children are invited to use the space to write or draw a prayer for the prayer tree, or simply come in and be quiet.

The space is offered as part of the response time of Godly Play and throughout the lunchtime clubs. We have found that the children treat this space differently and it is used almost every week by some of the group.

You can find descriptions of the different spaces here: Reflective space

Sensory Garden

What do you do with a dead piece of land? The school had a roughly triangular piece of land that was overshadowed by a large tree and not really usable.

They decided to use the area to create a sensory garden where children and adults could go for quiet and reflection. The school council was asked for their ideas: the sensory garden includes a bench for sitting; a water feature and sweet smelling plants such as rosemary.

The local garden centre gave advice about plants that grow well in a shady environment, and parents and friends of the school were involved in the design and implementation of the project.