Prayer and Worship
‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with them.’
Matthew. 18:20
Prayer and Liturgy Directory
‘All who share responsibility for Catholic education are encouraged to nurture and strengthen their school as a community that exemplifies, in word and deed, the Good News of Jesus Christ, which begins with prayer and radiates out to all aspects of school life.’ (Prayer and Liturgy Directory, Section 4.3: p19)
At St. Mary of the Angels we are committed to ensuring our pupils become familiar with a rich and impactful range of prayer and liturgy including classroom prayer, meditation, assemblies, devotions, prayer services …
We use the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory 'To Love You more Dearly', published by the Bishops’ Conference and the Catholic Education Service (CES) in October 2023, to enhance the excellent practices that already exists for Prayer and Liturgy within our school. Please click here to access the Prayer and Liturgy Directory.
To read our school's Prayer and Liturgy Policy please click on the link below.
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Prayer & Liturgy Policy | [pdf 300KB] |
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Daily Prayers
Prayers taught to children at St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School.
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Age phase |
EYFS |
KS1 |
7–9 (Lower KS2) |
9–11 (Upper KS2) |
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Prayers |
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Our School Prayers SMA EYFS 2023-2024 | [pdf 75KB] |
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Our School Prayers SMA KS1 2023-2024 | [pdf 97KB] |
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Our School Prayers SMA LKS2 2023-2024 | [pdf 103KB] |
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Our School Prayers SMA UKS2 2023-2024 | [pdf 125KB] |
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Prayer and Worship at St. Mary of the Angels
At our school we recognise the central role that prayer and worship plays in an active faith community and in all members of that community bearing witness to the Good News of the Gospels; none more so than for our pupils embarking on their own journeys in faith. Our parish priest, Monsignor Keith Barltrop, is a member of our school's governing body and plays a vital role in the sacramental and prayer life of the school.
At St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School, we provide times for Collective Worship in the following way:
| Day | Type | Timings |
| Monday | Classroom Acts of Worship (Ten Ten Daily prayers) |
9:00am -9:10am |
| Tuesday | Gospel Assembly (whole school) | 9:10am-9:30am |
| Wednesday | Music Led Worship (Hymn Practice) | 9:10am-9:40am |
| Thursday | Classroom Acts of Worship (Ten Ten Daily prayers) | 9:00am -9:10am |
| Friday | Celebration Assembly/Merit Assembly (whole school) | 2:30pm-3:00pm |
Through prayer and worship we give glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is important that our children understand that there is a purpose to prayer. We pray four times a day – at the beginning of the day, before lunch, after lunch and at the end of the school day. We have KS1 and KS2 prayers and each year group has their own book of prayers to learn and say together.
Pupils at St. Mary of the Angels experience and explore a variety of methods of prayer, such as:
- Traditional learned prayer in a group setting
- Prayer appropriate to the Liturgical cycle
- Prayer from scripture
- Individual, quiet prayer and reflection
- Prayer using different stimulus e.g. images, music, art and nature
- Silent group meditation
- Prayer in song
- Prayer for other (petitionary prayer)
- Imaginative prayer
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Mission Statement & School Prayer 2023 | [pdf 93KB] |
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Prayer Services 2023-2024
The chidlren and staff are delighted to invite parents and carers to join us in prayer and worship at our forthcoming Prayers Services the dates of which are as follows:
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Kingfishers |
Friday 6th October 3pm |
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Herons |
Friday 3rd November 3pm |
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Goldfinches |
Friday 17th November 3pm |
| Swans | Friday 2nd February 3pm |
| Swallows | Friday 8th March 3pm |
| Robins | Friday 10th May 3pm |
| Kestrels | Friday 17th May 3pm |
| Hummingbirds | Thursday 6th June 3pm |
Class Assemblies 2023-2024
The children and staff are delighted to invite parents and carers to join us in prayer, worship and celecration at our forthcoming class assemblies.
The dates of which are as follows:
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Robins |
Friday 13th October 9:10am |
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Swans |
Friday 20th October 9:10am |
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Swallows |
Friday 10th November 9:10am |
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Hummingbirds |
Thursday 23rd November 9:10am |
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Kestrels |
Friday 19th January 9:10am |
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Herons |
Friday 26th January 9:15am |
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Kingfishers |
Friday 9th February 9:10am |
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Goldfinches |
Friday 15th March 9:10am |
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Collective Acts of Worship
Pupils are fully involved in planning and preparing class assemblies, liturgies, prayer services and school masses which are well attended by parents, carers and family members.
Year group Masses in KS2 and liturgies in KS1 provide an opportunity for our pupils and staff to come together to worship. The confident and thoughtful way in which our pupils lead each other and the school community in prayer during our class assemblies in particular, is a strength of our school’s Catholic life.
Other opportunities for prayer and worship include guided meditations and our wonderful classroom prayer areas, themed in line with the liturgical year, and our outside prayer areas each playground provide a focal point for planned and spontaneous prayer. Our Upper Key Stage 2 pupils come together twice a year at Westminster Cathedral, our Mother Church, with schools from all over the diocese for the Advent Service early in December and the Good Shepherd Mass in the summer term where our call to serve others is answered through our offering of money raised in school for The Catholic Children’s Society.
The school community join the parish community at Masses at key times of the liturgical year in our parish church including feast days and Holy Days of Obligation.
Fr. Keith continues to support our older pupils in developing their knowledge and understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation through his visits to our Year 5 and 6 classes during Lent.
Nothing is impossible if we turn to God in prayer
Following His Holiness Pope Francis’ message on January 1st 2017 for the celebration of the fiftieth World Day of Peace, the pupils and staff have been reflecting on his message of peace and this has been the focus for our new RE displays around the school’s communal areas.
Pope Francis concluded his message by saying,
“All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. In 2017, may we dedicate ourselves prayerfully and actively to banishing violence from our hearts, words and deeds, and to becoming nonviolent people and to building nonviolent communities that care for our common home. Nothing is impossible if we turn to God in prayer. Everyone can be an artisan of peace.”