Collective Worship
At Holy Family School, prayer and liturgy allows us all - children, staff, parents and parishioners - to come together to love God.
God’s word is central to our faith and the lives we are called to lead as followers of Christ.
Scripture is used as a starting point for whole-school and class-led prayer and worship, with God’s word as the focus of our prayers and thoughts. Opportunities are provided to use the Scriptures to celebrate and gather together so we can demonstrate the glory of God in our lives.
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 at lunchtime and to open and close the school day sessions. The children also plan and lead acts of worship within each of their classes. This happens daily and the children in the upper junior classes lead Lectio Divina. Collective Worship across every class uses the same structure. We gather, using prayers or actions or music. Then, we listen to scripture, readings. We reflect on the meaning of the scripture we have heard and 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. It is wonderful to see the children excited, enthusiastic and deepening their faith through prayer and liturgy. We have trained Faith Leaders who support our younger children by leading Prayer and Liturgy in EYFS and Key Stage 1. In each class, there is a prayer and liturgy book where pictures, planning templates and powerpoints are kept as a reminder and record of the acts of worship.
We look forward to our Monday liturgies, which are led by Mr Gaughan and Mrs Dodd. These are centred around the the Gospel reading from Sunday. These always have a huge focus on scripture and we pray and sing to celebrate and worship together. often, the children also help lead worship, enabling all to deepen faith and learn from the teachings of Christ.
On Fridays we also recognise and celebrate children’s achievements, both in and out of school, during our weekly Star Award Celebration.
Our Worship Area
Every child has access to a prayer area in the classroom which includes a prayer focus and the class prayer book, as well as bibles and resources relevant to each class. We also have a wonderful worship area which is central to our school. Children enjoy accessing this quiet space during breaks and lunchtimes. They can play quiet music, write prayers, write messages to go on the prayer board or just sit and reflect. It is a delight to see the older children helping the younger children in Reception class write their prayers or scribe for them.
TRAVELLING NATIVITY
During Advent, our school have organised a 'travelling nativity' to visit the homes of our children. Each night the figures, scripture and prayers go to a different home so that the children can bring the nativity into their homes. Fr Stephen came into school and blessed our nativities. Please see the photographs that some families have sent into school.
