Prayer and Liturgy
Prayer, worship and liturgical celebration are central to our Catholic tradition and form an integral part of the school day. Prayer is encouraged in a variety of methods; – private individual prayer, group prayer, and whole school prayer.
Each child takes part in a daily act of worship (5-10 minutes) and formal prayers are used to open and close the school day sessions. The children also plan and lead acts of worship within each of their classes. In each class, there is a prayer and liturgy book where pictures, planning and prayers are kept as a record of the acts of worship.
Collective Worship across every class uses the same structure. We gather, using music and actions and then listen to scripture. After that, we respond by doing something or saying a prayer together. Finally, we go forth by reflecting on the scripture and taking this forward into our work throughout the day. We are very proud of the way our children respond spiritually and reverently during prayer and liturgy.
Collective Worship in our school is centred around our half-termly Gospel Value theme, feast or celebrations or in response to global issues. The children always relate the theme to scripture references and they write their own prayers and choose their own hymns to celebrate and worship together. It is wonderful for the children to leave us all with a reflection, mission idea or practical response to our celebration. We look forward to our Thursday morning Masses with the Parish community which are led by each class in turn. This weekly celebration of the Eucharist enables children and staff to deepen faith, learn from the teachings of Christ and become the very best we can be for ourselves and for others.
We also recognise and celebrate children’s achievements, both in and out of school, during our weekly Praise Celebration. Children again are encouraged to bring their own prayers and petitions to share with the school and finish the celebration praising and thanking God.
Worship Areas
In each classroom there is a prayer area which includes a prayer focus and the class prayer book, as well as bibles and resources relevant to each class. We also have a prayer room which is central to our school and where children can enjoy accessing a quiet space during breaks and lunchtimes. They can play quiet music, write prayers or just sit and reflect. The older children in Year 5 act as prayer leaders helping the younger children write their prayers, join in prayer activities and listen to religious stories or scripture.
Our School Prayer
