Our mission statement is taken from St John’s Gospel, when Jesus said, ‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.’(John 10:10)

Offering time for prayer and worship in school helps us all embrace this mission statement. We believe that Christian worship in a Catholic school names and celebrates God’s presence in our lives. It is concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into relationship, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer & Liturgy is planned following a structure with reference to the Church’s seasons, our Come and See scheme of work for RE, feast days, the curriculum and other significant dates.

Children meet in different groups to pray in school, and parents and parishioners are invited to participate in some of these celebrations throughout the year.

Our prayer takes into account the religious and educational needs of all who share in it:

• Those who form part of the worshipping community in church;
• Those for whom school may be their first and only experience of church;
• Those from other Christian traditions – or none;
• Those from other faith backgrounds.

Prayer & Liturgy in St Alban’s School aims to provide opportunities for all pupils and staff:

• To contemplate the mystery of God
• To reflect on spiritual and moral issues
• To explore personal beliefs
• To respond to and to celebrate life
• To experience a sense of belonging and to develop community spirit
• To develop a common ethos and shared values
• To enrich religious experience
• To grow in liturgical understanding and development
• To pray using prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
• To reinforce positive attitudes
• To participate fully
• To take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to.’

All acts of prayer and liturgy in St Alban’s School will:

• Give glory and honour to God;
• Be a quality activity, fundamental to the life of the school and its Catholic character;
• Enable pupils to develop, through faith, the competence, knowledge and skills to prepare, organise and lead worship;
• Give pupils positive liturgical experiences, appropriate to their age, aptitude and family backgrounds in order to prepare them for the liturgical life of the Church. Celebrations will be appropriate to the age and groupings of the children.