Collective Worship

Here is our current timetable for Prayer and Liturgy at St Mary’s:

Monday	Whole School Celebration of the Word based on Sunday’s Gospel (Led by the Chaplaincy Team and supported by a Senior Leader)
Tuesday	Hymn Practice
Wednesday	Class Celebration of the Word (in Classrooms) ordinarily based on the Word of the Week
Thursday	Statements to Live By / Themed Assembly (Led by Class Teachers)
Friday	Celebration Assembly – ‘Shining Lights’ (Led by Y6 pupils)

When we plan prayer and liturgies at St Mary’s, we use the planning documents created by the NDCYS. We also use their resources to help us evaluate our liturgies too. Their wonderful Extra-Ordo-nary document can be a useful tool for liturgy planning, especially for Wednesday’s Class Celebrations of the word which are based on the ‘Word of the Week’.

Our RE learning is closely linked with our Collective Worship and each support the other. Through exposure to a wide variety of scripture and liturgically appropriate hymns, our pupils develop the ability to make a wide range of links and as they grow, they are able to give well-reasoned answers when questioned about their choice of scripture and hymns as they begin to plan and lead their own acts of worship.

Our staff are directed to helpful resources (such as Open Bible, Chaplaincy.Space, the Liturgy Office of England and Wales and Liturgy Tools) to help them to choose liturgically suitable scripture and hymns, and to support them generally. This in turn allows them to support our pupils too as they help them to develop these important skills.

We have many sacred spaces around school which promote spontaneous prayer, including in our foyer, reception area, hall and in each classroom.

In addition, we have two outdoor sacred spaces. The first is a Laudato Si’ community garden and the second is a dedicated space on the Key Stage 2 playground which the pupils chose to name ‘Wonderwood’. This space provides a place for prayer and reflection outside, with a focus on personal wellbeing and development.

Below are some of the responses collected from our pupil voice questionnaires.

What do you like about Collective Worship in school?

“I like singing.”

“I like that we all get chance to take part.”

“I like that teachers give up their time to help us get it ready.”

“Everyone has a right to share their ideas.”

“The fun little missions.”

“The creativity.”

What helps you to pray in school?

“Our priest who comes in and explains about prayer.”

“The little prayers cards [we get given] sometimes help me to pray.”

“Spending time in the Reflection Room.”

“People who come in and visit us, e.g. from CAFOD.”

“Our Come and See board because it has our school prayers on it.”

How does your school teach you to be like Jesus?

“We are like sheep. We follow Jesus’ footsteps.”

“We are taught [about our] Gospel Values and Gospel Virtues that we should try to follow. [We have] the ‘Heart that Sees’ award every two weeks.”

“Through RE lessons and assemblies.”

“We are told to help others, no matter what.”

Father in Heaven,

I give you today

all that I think and do and say,

and are united with all that is done,

by Jesus Christ your dearest Son.

Amen

This meal O God is a sign of your love for us,

bless Lord those who prepared it and be with us as we eat.

Amen

Thank you God for the food we have eaten,

Please send help to those who do not have enough to eat.

Amen

God our Father

I come to say,

thank you for your love today.

Thank you for my family,

and all the friends you give to me.

Guard me in the dark of night

and in the morning send your light.

Amen

God Our Father,

Give us strength so that, guided by Our Lady’s example,

we can have the courage to say yes to you.

Help us to love like she loves, have faith like she has

and follow Jesus’ example in all that we do.

Inspire in all of us a sense of togetherness, so that we can use

the gifts you have given us for the good of all in our community

and bring support and healing to those less fortunate than ourselves.

We ask Our Lady to guide us, just as she guided St Bernadette,

as we seek to bring Jesus’ message of love

and forgiveness to others.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, Our Lord.

Amen

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us

St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us

Every year, we hold a Celebration of the word which includes contributions during our response section from every class. Classes choose to respond in different ways, with some sharing artwork, poetry, psalms and songs. Our school community are very generous and we are always delighted to pass all donations onto a local charity such as Boston Foodbank.

Each Advent and Lent, we arrange for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to take place in the school hall. Father Dominic brings the Blessed Sacrament into school and helps the children establish a prayerful environment. This is normally split up into key stage groups, and both key stages are able to pray and reflect quietly before the Blessed Sacrament.