‘At St Modwen’s Catholic Primary School the Catholic Life and Collective Worship are outstanding’

^{(RE inspection report February 2018)}

At St Modwen's School, we understand the importance of prayer and liturgy in our Catholic ethos. We strive to provide our students with opportunities to deepen their relationship with God through prayer and worship.  Our daily Collective Worship is an integral part of our school day, where we come together to reflect, give thanks, and offer our intentions. We also celebrate Mass regularly as a whole school and invite our families and Governors to join us. Our liturgical celebrations are regularly planned and led by our pupils, encouraging their active participation, and fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for their faith. Through our commitment to prayer and liturgy, we aim to inspire and nurture a love for God and a desire to live out our Catholic values in our daily lives.

So what might a typical week look like? Central to our prayer life in St Modwen’s is the weekly celebration of the Mass. The Eucharist is the very core, the very essence of our Catholic life and therefore is celebrated with the whole school and the extended community each Thursday morning. Children participate in a variety of ways: praying, reading, singing, playing musical instruments, preparing a display to emphasise a specific focus of the Mass, to name but some. Occasionally, a particular class may celebrate Mass within their own classroom in order to further help their understanding of the richness of the Eucharist.

There are many other opportunities for prayer and liturgy to take place. Each Wednesday the children gather in their classes for the ‘Wednesday Word’. This provides the children with the opportunity to hear the forthcoming Sunday Gospel and to reflect on a significant word from within that Gospel. This word is discussed in lessons at opportune moments and is thus ‘alive’ for the week.

Other opportunities for prayer take place within the classroom at the start of each day, before and after lunch and again at the end of each day. Prayer in the classrooms and in assemblies always includes use of symbols and a focal point for prayer which is appropriate to the liturgical season, for example, Lent, Advent or Easter.  During all these times of prayer, both staff and pupils are involved in leading and participating.

Please click below if you would like to see the prayers we say at school.

The school is very blessed in having two very supportive priests within the parish who are in school regularly helping our children to experience what it means to belong to, or take part in the worshipping community of the Church. The children are fortunate to be able to experience the richness of the liturgical life of the church in many ways throughout the year such as the Stations of the Cross during Lent, the celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation at least twice a year, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and a joyful Carol Service at Christmas.

It is thus our aim at St Modwen’s to provide our children with opportunities to experience a variety of forms of prayer that help each individual in the school community to foster their own relationship with God.