Prayer and Liturgy

In essential part of the Catholic ethos of our school is the prayer life. Staff meetings and Governors meetings begin with a prayer. The most important aspect of prayer for children is that they realise it is their way of communicating with God and is first and foremost a personal occasion. Children are encouraged to pray in different ways according to their age and personal development.

Children are introduced to a variety of different ways of praying:

  • quiet reflection / meditation
  • praying together
  • writing own prayers
  • prayers through music
  • learning traditional Christian / Catholic prayers
  • Staff are encouraged to pray with children, and to be an example for them

Every day, our children are taught to open their hearts and talk to God. Every class partakes in daily prayers which are said at different stages in the day.

Collective Worship

Collective worship in our school community provides opportunities to:

  • Deepen our relationship with God
  • Grow in spiritual, moral and liturgical understanding; grow in understanding of our living faith tradition
  • Develop a sense of wonder and inspiration in the person of Christ
  • Reflect upon our own individual faith journeys and develop the skills of prayer. Collective worship is celebrated in a variety of ways including:
  • Whole school worship
  • Class worship
  • Worship through hymns
  • Class mass or liturgy
  • Whole school masses during the year, including holy days of obligation during term time.

Class Prayer Book

Every class in our school has their own class prayer book to write their own prayer at home with their family and have the opportunity to share their family prayer with their class and the school community.

Prayer & Learning Resources for Home and School

Below are some links to support with prayer at home and in school.

Cafod: Prayer Resources

Browse Cafod’s collection of prayers on poverty, bidding prayers, and short Catholic prayers on a wide range of themes and throughout the liturgical year.

Caford: Children's liturgy

Prayers and resources for children's liturgy catechists and for families.

Catholic Icing — Catholic Crafts and More for Kids

Catholic Crafts and More for Kids

Catholic Kids | Loyola Press

Teach Catholic kids about the Catholic faith with fun games and prayers. Find Catholic information for kids at Loyola Press..

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina is a form of prayer that involves meditating on scripture. The name isLatin for ‘sacred reading’ and it dates back to the early Christian Church, around the time of St Benedict. In Lectio Divina a scripture passage is slowly read and meditated upon four times, in complete silence.

Lectio Divina for kids: teaching kids to pray through the Bible

Lectio Divina is a prayerful reading of the Bible. Learn about how to modify the practice of Lectio Divina for kids in this helpful article.

Meditation for children

The Catholic Children’s Society (CCS) support the material, relational and spiritual wellbeing of children and young people. During the Coronavirus crisis we have collaborated with the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) to develop a series of videos on meditation which children and young people can participate in, whether in school or at home.

Mission Together

Across the world, Mission Together encourages children to pray. This is because prayer not only unites us to God our Father, but through God’s love, prayer unites us with other people too. And it does not matter where those people are. They could be praying together in the same place, or praying together but in different towns, or in different parts of the world!

Pray as you go

Pray as you Go have produced a lovely way for families to share a version of the traditional Jesuit prayer form the Examen. This can be used at the end of the day. Either go to the website and listen to the instructions or download the pdf file. Please do share it.