Collective Worship

At St. Peter’s Primary School, collective worship plays a significant role in our daily school life. It enables both adults and children of our community to join together as one in prayer and worship.

Classroom Worship

Worship takes place daily within the class both through scripture reading and prayer. Every Monday collective worship happens within classes whereby children read and reflect upon a range of Bible scripture.

Whole School Merit Collective Worship

Each Tuesday the whole school community come together for our merit collective worship. We celebrate the achievements of that week and two children are presented with a merit certificate chosen by each class teacher. Achievements celebrated are both academic but also where children have displayed a value or the beauty of heart.

Gold Star Celebration Collective Worship

At the end of each term, we hold a Gold Star Collective Worship. Each teacher selects two children who have displayed our values within their work or shown beauty of heart in what they do. We then award the children with a gold star certificate and their work is displayed in the main corridor as a way of celebrating their efforts. As a school, we always refer to our ‘Child-Friendly’ mission statement and highlight the ways the children are growing in God’s Love.

Wednesday Word

Each week, the children are provided with the opportunity to reflect on Sunday’s Gospel through ‘Wednesday Word’. They are invited to look at and discuss the reading both within school and at home. The link is on the website for parents to access.

Hymn Practice

On Mondays for FS2 and KS1 and Wednesdays for KS2, the children gather to sing songs of praise to God and practise hymns. The children develop their skills in singing praise to God which they can use within times of collective worship and Mass.

Child Led Liturgy

We think it is important to provide the children with the skills and confidence to plan and lead collective worship. Each week, children from different classes prepare and lead collective worship. FS2 and KS1 children are guided by adults to prepare this, while KS2 children take a lead in the planning process. They will then introduce the liturgy, invite children to participate in the ‘Echo Our Father’, read scripture from the Bible and read their own prayers.

Teacher Led Liturgy

Teachers from FS2, KS1 and KS2 plan a weekly collective worship for their class to allow time for reflection and prayer based on a religious theme. In addition, the teachers will plan with the children, working collaboratively to select appropriate scriptures and hymns relating to the theme of the collective worship.

Special Liturgies

Throughout the year to mark important events in the liturgical calendar, we hold special liturgies during whole school collective worships.

At Easter, we had a special collective worship based on the Stations of the Cross. Each class focused on a particular station and shared it with the whole school. In addition, Year 6 worked together to perform the Easter story.

For Remembrance Day, we held a special collective worship where we reflected on the significance of the day and the importance it holds for us today. The children enjoyed sharing prayers and singing praise to God on this special day.

The Celebration of Christmas

Each year at Christmas, children from KS2 lead the school in a Carol Service. Each class focuses on a specific carol and the children also work collaboratively to perform a range of other special carols. The service involves the children from Year 3 to 6 using their musical skills and performing using a range of different musical instruments. Our parents and school governors are invited to attend and watch the special religious service and there is also a performance to the rest of the school.

FS2 and KS1 perform in a nativity which has a different focus each year. They work as a team to act out different roles and sing a range of songs. FS2 support with the singing, Year 1 use their musical talents and use different musical instruments and Year 2 perform on stage. Our parents and school governors are invited to watch the nativity and there is also a performance to the rest of our school.

 Mass

Throughout the year, we have several opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist in school. Our local Parish Priests come into our school and celebrate Mass throughout the year. Children help to prepare and participate within the mass by reading and bringing up gifts during the Mass. During some occasions, parents and Governors are invited to attend the mass in school.

Children from Year 3 to 6 attend Mass at our local parish church on a rotational basis. They both attend and engage within the service, with two members of the class reading the First Reading and Responsorial Psalm to the congregation. In addition, the children may be asked to take the offertory up to the Priest.

St George’s Cathedral Visits

We are very fortunate to be able attend special religious and feast day celebrations at St. George’s Cathedral. A selection of children from Year 5 and 6 attended the ‘Beginning of the New Year’ mass led by Auxiliary Bishop, Paul Hendricks and other clergy. The children enjoyed this service and engaged in singing praise to God with other children from a range of Catholic schools in the Diocese.

A group of Year 5 and 6 children attended the special ‘Advent’ service at St. George’s and engaged in singing a range of hymns and carols to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. They also made a special book of ‘Advent Promises’ where each child wrote their own promise relating to the theme of ‘Hope’ during Advent.