Pupils at St Clare’s have a wide range of opportunities to encounter God and to explore and deepen their faith. Through Collective Worship, Religious Education lessons and the Catholic ethos of the school, we enable children to come to know and love God. Christ is at the centre of everything we do. Our curriculum reflects the Gospel values and these permeate through every school policy as we encourage our pupils to be committed to being responsible citizens, valuing themselves, others and the world around them.
The school environment is rich with scripture and displays of children’s RE work, including their personal reflections, prayers, artwork and their retells of Bible stories, along with a focus on St Clare after whom our school is named. Each class has a prayer focus area, with a liturgical cloth in the appropriate colour, a Bible, school prayers, a crucifix, pictures of Pope Leo and Bishop Patrick McKinney, opportunities for spontaneous prayer, Rosary beads and a candle. Statues of Our Lady and images of St Francis can also be found.
Prayer and Worship
Prayer and worship are central to the daily life of our school. We provide opportunities for children’s spiritual growth and development through participation in a range of forms of worship and through experiencing different forms of prayer.
School prayers are said at the beginning and end of the day and before lunch, as well as during RE lessons. Pupils have the opportunity to write their own prayers, to spontaneously pray at focal points around the school, including class prayer corners and to participate in Christian meditation and Lectio Divina.
Throughout the liturgical year, key events are celebrated including Christingle, Stations of the Cross, Ash Wednesday and key Feast Days through Masses and liturgies – some in school and some at St. Wilfrid of York, our local Parish church. Our School Chaplaincy team play a key role in leading some of these events. The children also participate in weekly child-led liturgies within their classes. These are written by and led by the pupils, including the creation of a suitable focal point, related to the theme of the liturgy.
A Catholic Community
St Clare’s is built on the foundations of the Catholic faith and its beliefs. It is the shared responsibility of the staff and governors to convey these Christian values to the children in our care. Staff pray and work together in order to provide the very best Religious Education possible for the pupils, modelling how to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Learning in R.E. is at the core of the curriculum and we ensure that the Bishop’s directive is followed in allocating 10% of curriculum time to R.E. lessons. The Governing Body, led by the Chair and the Governor responsible for RE, provide outstanding support and commitment to the central place of RE in the school.
Father Gabriel Offor from St Wilfrid’s frequently visits the school to lead collective worship and also to share his knowledge of Catholicism with the children. The school actively supports Parish activities whenever possible.
The relationship between school, home, parish and the wider world is an important one. We support this bond through initiatives such as the Travelling Nativity, discussion homework, charity fundraising, such as for Cafod, food collections, such as at Harvest time and inviting parents and members of the local community to attend Masses and liturgies at school, as well as other events.
We teach our pupils to have the utmost respect for others, including those of other faiths. Children learn about aspects of Judaism each year, along with one other faith such as Sikhism or Hinduism. Leaders from other faiths are welcome at St Clare’s to support the children’s learning and the pupils also have the opportunity to visit their places of worship.
