Celebrations of the Word

At St Mary’s Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy we aim to ensure that children and staff have the opportunity to participate in daily high-quality Christian Celebrations of the Word encouraging a regular habit of personal prayer to develop spirituality.

You can find more details and information about our Celebrations of the Word and the wider collective worship which is celebrated and observed at St Mary’s in our Collective Worship Policy.

St Mary’s Collective Worship Policy

Celebrations of the Word in our school will provide a variety of experiences which:

Can be led by learners, staff and visitors
Can be offered for a class, year group, Key Stage or whole school
Use a balance of quiet reflection, silence, prayers, responses, music, dance, drama, slides, video excerpts or short addresses
Ensure the theme, focus, delivery length and resources are appropriate to the interests, age range, backgrounds and ability of the learners.
Set an appropriate prayerful atmosphere with a sense of order and occasion, including entry and exit
Provide a focus using artefacts, candles, symbols and lighting
Respect the freedom of learners and staff in the invitation to prayer and worship
Ensure the possibility of conscious, active participation of all present

Planning

Every piece of Liturgical Prayer is planned to include elements of ‘Hearing’, ‘Seeing’, ‘Doing’ and ‘Thinking.

Collective Worship is planned to follow the sequence shown:

Stage	Things to think about/Points of note
Gathering	How do you want people to enter, what are they going to see – how will you set the tone? We always start with the sign of the cross. Explain why we have gathered and make it clear what we are going to be thinking about.
The Word	Scripture should be near the start. It should be the heart and inspiration of the Liturgical Prayer.
Response	How do we respond to what we have heard and to the theme.
Mission	How will we send people out and what do you want them to do?

Liturgical Prayer takes place every day.

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
Leader	Head teacher	Class Child Led	Child Led Whole School	Singing Practice and prayer	Class teacher / Pupil Led
Where	Hall	Hall	Hall	Hall	Classroom/Chapel
Who	Whole School	Years 1-6	Whole School	Whole School	Class
Theme	Gospel Nurturing Human Wholeness Liturgical Season	Nurturing Human Wholeness Liturgical Season	Word of the week Liturgical Season Catholic Social Teaching	Nurturing Human Wholeness Liturgical Season	Come and See Nurturing Human Wholeness Liturgical Season

Celebrations of the Word

Celebrations of the Word

Celebrations of the Word in our school will provide a variety of experiences which:

Planning

Liturgical Prayer takes place every day.

St Mary's is 'GOLD'. We have achieved the Gold standard from the School Games team. This is as a result of our commitment to school sport and our inclusive and determined efforts in promoting physical activity to all.