Catholic Life of School

The Catholic life of the schools provides opportunities for our pupils to encounter God and to deepen their relationship with Him as a loving, compassionate Father. Through prayer, both traditional and informal, through liturgies and Religious Education lessons, where pupils receive direct teaching of the faith, through the relationships and support for each other that pupils, staff and parents enjoy within the school community, we enable our children to come to know and love God.

Religious icons can be found throughout both schools. Displays of work can be seen in classrooms and all around the schools, including the schools’ main reception areas. Each class has a prayer focus area, with a liturgical cloth in the appropriate colour.

The Christian values at the heart of our Catholic faith incorporate the British values and we aim in everything we do to further each child's sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves, to others and in the wider world.

Prayer and worship

Prayer and worship are central to the daily life of our schools. We aim to provide opportunities for pupils' spiritual growth and development through participation in a variety of forms of worship and through experiencing all forms of prayer: formal, informal, spontaneous, private, shared, petitionary and meditative. Traditional and Modern songs/hymns play an important part of weekly assemblies, enrich collective worship and help develop a sense of community within and between the two schools.

Pupils in Key Stage 2 are actively involved in planning and leading worship, both in class, in Assemblies and in Mass.

Shared acts of worship take place in an atmosphere of reflection and stillness, where we encourage each other to listen to God speaking to us and to respond. Pupils are encouraged to write prayers and these are displayed on our prayer corners for pupils to refer to and use in class and private prayer.

The schools as a Catholic Community

All staff, led by the Headteacher, Assistant Headteachers, R.E Leads and Governors are aware that the schools' foundations are built on the Catholic faith and beliefs and underpin everything we do and that it is our shared responsibility to transmit the Catholic faith to the pupils in our care.

All staff receive regular in-house training and support as part of their continuous professional development. Staff pray and work together to support each other in providing the very best Religious Education possible for the pupils.

Learning in RE is at the core of the curriculum and we ensure that the Bishop's directive is followed in allocating 10% of curriculum time to RE lessons.

The Governing Board, led by the Chairs and our Parish Priest provide outstanding support and commitment to ensure RE has a central place in our schools. The Priests visit our schools weekly to enrich and deepen spirituality and faith of our pupils and staff.

We hold the belief that we share the role of educators of the faith with the parents of our pupils and we strive to keep them fully informed of what their child is learning at school and to support them in what they can do at home to further their child's understanding of the faith.

Parents are welcomed to assemblies, Masses and other liturgies throughout the year, either in person or remotely in current circumstances.