At St Joseph and St Bede RCPS, we celebrate the Word of God daily. Acts of worship are at the heart of our school life, reflecting our Mission Statement: “Dream, believe and achieve.” These acts of worship provide a dedicated time for our school community to gather in prayer, thought, reflection and spiritual growth. Each day, we come together in different ways to deepen our connection with God, reflect upon His Word and strengthen our actions going forward.

Through stories and prayers, hymns and song, we encourage our children to live out our Gospel Values, creating a nurturing environment with Christ at the centre. Celebration of the Word at St Joseph and St Bede fosters a sense of community, togetherness and spiritual and moral development, encouraging children to live out their faith.

To ensure our school is authentically and distinctively Catholic, we provide rich and varied worship opportunities throughout the year, in different group sizes and varied locations; including with parents, parish and wider community.  We utilise our distinctive school grounds and local woodland for acts of worship and to promote a sense of awe and wonder in our pupils. The Word of God is central to our prayer life and school life.

We believe that Collective Worship in our school will provide a variety of opportunities to deepen our relationships with God and develop the following:-

  • To contemplate the mystery of God;
  • To unite our worshipping Eucharistic community;
  •  To develop the necessary skills of:

– reflection

– reverence

– contemplation

– interpretation

– empathy

– meditation

Which will enable our relationships with God to be deepened.

Full participation in our faith will allow us:-

  • To grow in spiritual, moral, cultural and liturgical understanding;
  • To grow in understanding of our living faith tradition;
  • To develop a sense of awe, wonder and inspiration in the person of Christ;
  • To examine and reflect upon our own individual faith journeys;
  • To develop the skills of praying in all its differing forms.

We gather together throughout the week to worship the Lord in different ways. Through this worship we are led to reflect, meditate, sing and pray, developing the spirituality of our whole school community. Please explore the sections below to find out more.

Weekly Structure

Monday

On Monday, we gather as a whole school community to celebrate the Gospel message in our Monday Worship. Through this act of collective worship we explore the Gospel message, reflect on its meaning and have time to praise and talk to God in our hearts and heads. Being together first thing on a Monday promotes a sense of togetherness at the start of a new week. The Gospel message then becomes an important framework for our weekly actions.

Tuesday

Once a week, classes pray together in a ‘Celebration of the Word’ following our Gather/ Word/ Respond/ Go Forth structure.  All pupils are developed as leaders of prayer and there is an expectation that in KS2 at least part of the Celebration of the Word is entirely planned and delivered by the children.  By Year Six, our children have developed in knowledge, understanding and confidence and are able to plan and lead a reflective and responsive Celebration of the Word for their peers.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning is our school singing worship. We firstly gather in a quiet moment of prayer and reflection, linking to the Gospel message for the week. We then sing together as a school community, to praise the Lord with our wonderful voices and celebrate His Word together in a joyous, inspiring and uplifting way.

Thursday

Once a week, key stages gather together to worship. This is a special time for children to sit amongst their immediate peers, reflect on the meaning of the weekly Gospel and think deeply on how to apply this scripture to their own lives in a meaningful way. This worship is led by both teachers in the key stage and children from across the key stage each week.

Friday

Friday is the day of our ‘Good News’ assembly. Here we spend time together as a whole school community at the end of each week, to celebrate the ‘Good News’ from across our school and give thanks to God for his support and endless love in our achievements and accomplishments.

Key Documents