Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Collective Worship

The key principles of Collective Worship

  • Give praise and honour to God;
  • Give pupils meaningful opportunities to engage in the Sacramental Life of the Church;
  • Give pupils and students positive liturgical experiences, appropriate to their age, aptitude and family context in order to prepare them for the liturgical life of the Church;
  • Be of high quality, fundamental to the life of the school and its Catholic character;
  • Be examples of good practice, which should enable pupils and students to develop skills so that they can prepare, organise and lead Worship

Aims of Collective Worship

The ultimate aim of Collective Worship at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is to provide the space and tools for our young people, within the context of the Catholic faith and traditions:

  • To contemplate the mystery of God;
  • To develop an understanding of Salvation History through meaningful engagement with the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation;
  • To reflect on spiritual and moral issues;
  • To foster and nurture relationships;
  • To respond to and to celebrate life
  • To experience a sense of belonging and to develop community;
  • To nurture a common ethos and shared set of values;
  • To enrich religious experience;
  • To grow in liturgical understanding and development;
  • To reinforce prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition;
  • To seek appropriate responses to the love of God;
  • To take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to.

Prayer

The daily prayers give children a time to pause and reflect. Each morning, before lunch and at the end of the school day various prayers are said.

Morning Prayer (written by students in the school):

Help us to achieve our best in everything we do today.

Help us to treat each other with kindness in both work and play.

Thank you God for safely guiding us to school.

When times get tough this year, please help us keep our cool. Amen.

Lunchtime prayer:

Bless us O Lord as we sit together.

Bless the food we eat today.

Bless the hands that made the food.

Bless us O 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.

Liturgy and Assemblies

  • Every Monday, the whole school gathers for a Gospel Assembly. These are led by members of the senior leadership team and class teachers. We reflect on the Gospel of the preceding Sunday and consider how we can live out the message within and outside of our school community.
  • Class assemblies are held on Tuesday afternoons. These are prepared by the children and parents and families are welcomed. Class assemblies focus on sharing a message based on scripture, Christian values, or celebrate special times during the liturgical year.
  • We believe that this promotes the community spirit of the school and is a demonstration of home and school working together to support the children’s faith development; Class Act of worship every Tuesday morning; parents and family members are invited in to school to worship with us.
  • Each Friday children attend celebration assemblies led by a member of SLT. Assemblies focus on celebrating the wide variety of pupil achievements and positive attitudes.
  • Mass is held at Our Lady of La Salette and Saint Joseph Catholic Church linking to Holy Days of Obligation and key events in the Liturgical year.
  • Every year, the children in Year 1 and 2 share a Christmas Nativity with the whole school, governors, parish, staff and special guests each Christmas; children in KS2 hold a Carol Concert with readings and prayers.
  • In May, the school celebrates Mass for the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker.
  • An annual Leavers’ Mass is held to celebrate the diversity of our school community and is attended by the local parish priest and organised by the pupils and Year 6 teacher.
  • Ash Wednesday liturgy is held in school with the imposition of ashes for children in Years 2 to 6.
  • Weekly, whole school liturgies are held during the season of Advent.
  • A Harvest liturgy is held every October.
  • All staff meetings begin with a prayer.
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