Scriptural Rosary

During the month of October, Years 2 - 6 take part in a special service in which we pray the rosary together at St Anselm's Catholic Church. Year 6 write and lead the rosary and reflections.

Day of Prayer

Ahead of the start of Lent, we participated in a whole school Day of Prayer, beginning by praying together in assembly.  In assembly, the children were reminded of the four types of prayer, and taught Pope Francis’s Five Finger Prayer.

Reception and Key Stage 1 walked around our local area together, on a prayer walk, looking for things to pray for.  Reception and year 1 created prayer chains for each of the four types of prayer and year 2 created their own prayers using prayerful colouring.

In Key Stage 2, the children used prayerful colouring to create their own prayers, then wrote their prayers on tiles, which have formed a part of our prayer stations.

All children studied and wrote Pope Francis’s Five Finger Prayer, and added this to their individual or whole class prayer journals.

Each class committed to a Lenten Promise, which they recorded on crosses to form a whole class display.

Each of the Key Stage 2 classes designed our prayer stations, which are being created by the RE Leaders.

Finally, all classes planned their own collective worship celebration.

Silent Prayer Service

Throughout the school year, each class has been invited to go to St Anselm's Church to take part in a Silent Prayer Service with Fr Stephen. 

During the service, the children are invited to pray silently in the company of Jesus on the altar for a period of exposition. Following this they take part in Benediction in which the children receive a blessing from the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer Journals

In EYFS and KS1 there is class prayer journal which children contribute prayers to. In Key Stage 2, all children have their own prayer journal which they can use throughout the week. There is a reserved time on a Friday morning for meditation and reflection in class during which time children are especially encouraged to make use of their prayer journals. 

Liturgical Dance

Liturgical dance is a form of prayer, combining music and movement.  Years 1, 2 and 3 have spent some time in Term 2 attending Liturgical Dance workshops, in which they learn and perform a choreographed liturgical dance together. In Term 3, Years 4, 5 and 6 will be given the opportunity to experience the joys of liturgical dance. 

Year 5 & 6 Retreat

On Monday 25^th September, Years 5 and 6 attended a retreat at St Anselm’s church.  This was organised by the RE Leaders, who are very grateful for the support that they received from Father Stephen to do this.  Father Stephen spoke to the children about the importance of Mary, and each class worked together to create Rosaries to keep in their class.  Each bead of the rosary had a prayer dedicated to it, which was shared by each child before being added on.  They also used the opportunity to quietly reflect and work on their personal prayers in their prayer journals.  They finished their retreat with silent prayer, together as a group.