Prayer and Liturgy

“Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Matthew 18:20

All classes participate in a daily act of collective worship. This may take the form of class prayers, liturgies or assemblies. This is also linked to the Word of the Week (WOW), which are an integral part of school life, and used by staff and pupils to promote and develop whole school and class-based collective worship in an innovative and reflective way.

Children actively lead and participate in prayers, liturgies, Masses and House Meetings, where we teach them to be responsible, reflective, aware of others and aware of God’s world; in which we are children with a voice and all have a potential to strive for good, work for a better world and always see the best in ourselves and in others.

In order to fulfil its mission statement, the school places great importance upon the daily act of worship- just like Jesus gathering with His disciples.

Aims:

To provide experience of a loving and worshipping community
To provide the opportunities for pupils to worship God
To provide the opportunities for spiritual and moral issues
To explore own and others beliefs/values
To encourage ownership and participation through active involvement in presentation of worship and listening/joining in worship

We follow the Word of the Week planner and use the format below to guide us through the week as a school, class and as a community. If a key feast day or liturgical event falls on one of these days, this will replace the timetabled worship below.

Annual Plan Of Provision 2025 26

Skill Strategy 2025 26

Prayer And Liturgy Policy

Daily Prayer

Daily life at St Patrick’s is shaped by prayer as it is deeply embedded in the daily rhythm of our school community. The children begin each day with a morning prayer, welcoming God to guide us throughout the day. This is followed by grace before lunch as well as grace after to thank God the food we have been given. We end our day, inviting the children to join in prayer for the evening ahead, reflecting on all the good we have achieved throughout the day.

Morning prayer:
Oh my God, you love me,
You are with me night and day.
I want to love You always,
in all I do and say.
I’ll try to please you Father,
bless me through the day.
Amen

Grace before lunch:
Bless us O God, as we sit together.
Bless the food we eat today,
Bless the hands that make the food.
Bless us O God.
Amen

Grace after lunch:
Thank you, God, for the food we have eaten
Thank you, God, for all our friends
Thank you, God, for everything
Thank you, God.
Amen

Evening Prayer:
God our Father,
we 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

Prayer Progression

Celebration of the Word

Prayer is at the heart of our school, enriching every aspect of daily life weekly. On a Monday we gather as a community to take part in Celebrations of the Word, guided by the Word of the Week, providing the children with a meaningful theme and focus to their worship. Our weekly celebrations are Teacher led, incorporating seasonality, 5 sense and most importantly scripture reflection. We are blessed to welcome Chaplain Clare and Luke (our hub chaplains) who regularly support both staff and pupils in exploring and developing diverse prayer forms across the school.

Child-led Celebrations of the Word are held every Thursday, providing pupils with the opportunity to reflect, plan, and lead worship using the Let Us Pray resources, supported by adult guidance. As the term progresses, the level of scaffolding during the planning process is gradually reduced in accordance with year group expectations, as outlined in our Skill Strategy document. Pupils have access to a variety of prayer resources within their classrooms and in our dedicated sacred space. We are currently trialling a progressive resource crate, designed to evolve across year groups, enriching the diversity of prayer experiences and encouraging engagement through the five senses.

Prayer And Liturgy Skills Document

Celebrating Mass

At St Patrick’s, we gather for whole-school Masses across the liturgical year, welcoming families and parish members to share in these celebrations. Masses are prepared jointly by our Chaplains and pupils, with planning carried out in Year and House groups giving every pupil the opportunity to grow in faith and understanding. We ensure all children have an active contribution through preparing the worship space, singing and reading.

A warm welcome for our community, families and parish members to join St Patricks:

Chaplaincy Team

Children from Year 3 to Year 6 are invited to play an active role in shaping their faith by becoming members of the Chaplaincy Team. This empowers them to express their ideas on how we can enhance and nurture our spiritual life. Working alongside Chaplain Clare and Luke, the children help plan meaningful opportunities for prayer and worship. Through teamwork and shared experiences, the Chaplaincy Team continues to grow in both skill and spiritual understanding.

Our chaplains current project, led by the Year 6 children is developing our outdoor prayer space:

Diversity of prayer

Our school encourages spontaneous moments of prayer, offering children space for personal reflection. We have created a variety of prayer stations that invite children to engage in meaningful acts of worship. These include lighting a candle to acknowledge God’s presence, reading relevant scripture, and participating in activities such as written reflections, meditation, silent prayer, or interactive storytelling.

Prayer Stations:

Celebrating Diversity – Human Dignity Children engage in written prayer, reflecting on five unique qualities that make them special in God’s world, affirming the dignity of every individual.

Shine Your Light – Scripture Focus of the Year Pupils explore the physical expressions of prayer and consider how they can “shine their light” through charitable actions, particularly by supporting our House charities.

Creation and Covenant – Linked to RE Branch 1 Through mindful meditation, children reflect on the Creation Story and explore their role as stewards of the Earth, deepening their understanding of covenant and care.

Pilgrim of Hope – ACTs of Prayer This station introduces children to the ACTs model of prayer—Adoration, Confession, and Thanksgiving—encouraging them to pray with gratitude and awareness of others.

School Mission Statement – Belonging, Sharing, Caring A welcoming space for our wider community to share reflections and prayers, this station embodies our mission of inclusion, compassion, and collective faith

Lectio Divina:

This year we have began to introduce the children to Lectio Divina, a conversation between themselves and God. Through this reflective approach it provides the children with an opportunity to revisit the scripture shared during Monday’s Celebration of the word.

Focusing on a short passage of scripture, Lectio Divina encourages the children to listen deeply, allowing God’s word to become personal. Children are guided to identify words or phrases that stand out to them, reflecting on their thoughts, feelings and how they might reply to God in prayer.

Community Worship

St Patrick’s has recently launched an Instagram page to strengthen connections with our wider community, sharing reflections on our Mission Statement, Word of the Week, and the school-wide mission focus. Parents and carers are encouraged to explore ways to encounter God at home continuing with the missionary work started in school.

Beyond attending Masses, parents and carers are invited to share in our Advent celebrations, Feast Days, reflective retreat afternoons like the Jubilee Picnic, and Come and See Assemblies. These gatherings allow families to experience the richness of their children’s spiritual learning and see how faith is brought to life in the classroom. To keep our school community connected, we share a weekly newsletter highlighting upcoming events. Please see the attachment below.