We provide a carefully planned programme of whole school Liturgical Prayer. In class, each RE topic ends with a Liturgical Prayer celebration, planned and led by the children.
Each Monday, the senior leadership team celebrates Liturgical Prayer with the whole school to begin our week centred in Jesus. We share our Liturgical Prayer with our wider community via Twitter.
We encourage all children to contribute to many faith-based activities eg child- led Prayer Group, CAFOD Club, Mini Vinnies, Eco Council, CAFOD National Assemblies, Mission Together and we are welcoming and inclusive of all wherever appropriate.
Opportunities are open to everyone in school to lead and participate in prayers, readings and singing whatever their faith. We embrace the culture of all children and follow a planned programme of work to promote the faiths of others in our world.
Our school day is punctuated by prayer – in the morning, before lunch, after lunch and before we go home.
In addition to joining children’s Collective Worship, staff gather together at every staff meeting where each person takes a turn to lead prayers; so every staff meeting starts with a prayer focus.
House Groups
There are 4 House Groups in each school. All children are placed in a House Group on their arrival at school. Siblings are placed in the same House Group. Each House meets in a designated classroom and the House Group names are displayed on each classroom door.
Each House Group contains two or more children from each year group in school. This allows strong pastoral links to be formed and fosters co-operation, tolerance and patience as the older children nurture the younger ones whilst working on the House group activities. Activities linked to Monday’s whole school Liturgical Prayer are recorded in House Books.
At Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, the House Groups are all named after places where Our Lady, the patron of our school, has appeared to visionaries: Carmel, Garabandal, Lourdes and Walsingham.
At St Joseph’s, House Groups are named after angels: Hosts, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael.
