Prayer Life

Collective worship (Prayer and Celebration of the Word) is central to all we do in providing opportunities for pupils and staff to worship God, reflect Jesus' role in their lives and develop community spirit and shared values.

Prayer takes many forms and is led by both children and staff. We follow the liturgical year (see below) and respond to world events and issues the children wish to explore. 

Here is an example of how we map out our prayer and Celebration of the Word. To see the full year click HERE

Prayer and Celebration of the Word happens daily in class and are part of our school's daily life.

Daily Celebration of the Word and prayer follow this timetable to provide a breadth and range of opportunities for prayer.

We have our school prayers that are prayed daily and pupils are also encouraged to lead their own prayers.

We encourage everyone to respond to the prayer experience offered with reverence and in a heartfelt way and we foster a sense of respect for those of other faiths.

Big Question

The big question has been developed across school in order for us to integrate the rich faith experiences and beliefs our children and families have.  Every Friday, with daily liturgy, children will discuss and explore key questions which will allow a range of responses.  This will enable children to recognise the different beliefs of their peers and deepen their understanding,

These questions have been mapped out across the year and each half term has an additional reference to Catholic Socisl Teaching principles.  Within all aspects, there is a common thread where the questions being explored encourage children to think about the environment and key social issues.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina is taught in all year groups.  This is an opportunity to engage in scripture from the Liturgical Year.  The children will read a passage of scripture and be oporynity to explore their inteprartion of the message in this reading. 

Chiildren will follow the 4 stages: Lectio - Reading Meditatio - Meditation Oratio - Prayer Complemplatio - Contemplation

Prayer Stations

Prayer stations play a big part in engaging in prayer.  

This is done in 2 ways:  

Prayer stations around school	Prayer station days with multiple prayer stations based on a theme.

Both approaches enable children to engage in their own reflective prayer in creative ways.  Prayer station days enable us to engage families in prayer as we invite them to join us in school and pray with their children. These are planned out across the year - see our Long Term plan at the top of the page.

Prayer stations around school

Parents have been invited to join us in school for Mass and celebrations and also to join in our Prayer stations Day.

Parents joined us for our Lectio Divina Showcase and their feedback shows the value of these events.

"We could sit and reflect and say prayers and talk about Jesus and how he is special in our lives."

"Thank you, it was really nice how relaxing it is to reflect on them or the world with calm music and not pressured to read their thoughts aloud"

"Very good session, liked how the children get to explore Scriptures and what different parts mean to them."

"I will be letting my children have a prayer corner at home with a book to write prayers or their worries."

Stations of the Cross

The children in Year 2 were fascinated by the Stations of the cross delivered by the Faith Team.  They decided to create their own to share with others the story of Jesus journey to his death and resurrection.  If you would like to watch it, please scan the QR code.

May is the Month of Mary

As a school, we celebrated the special Month of May when we dedicated our prayers to Mary.  This year, we focused on what Mary represents to us as she is a different symbol to so many.  Here is a video sharing some of our ideas.

Prayer Station Images