Our governors and staff are strongly committed to building and strengthening the Catholic ethos of the school. Our children recognise and embrace the Catholic identity of the school, reflected in our mission statement, "Together we learn and grow in God’s love". This page gives you a flavour of the depth and breadth of our Catholic life and mission.
Catholic Care
Catholic Care are a Leeds based charity. They offer a team of dedicated professionals including school social workers and educational psychologists to support children and young people whenever they have problems at school or at home. We are grateful to for the support and dedication they show our children and families.
Collective worship
Collective worship at Sacred Heart provides opportunities for pupils and staff to come together to worship God. It is rooted in the example and teachings of Jesus Christ, whilst taking into account the religious and educational needs of all who share in it.
We believe that worship in a Catholic school names and celebrates God’s presence in our lives. 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.
All forms of collective worship follow the accepted four-fold structure of gather, listen, respond and go forth; particular emphasis may be placed on specific parts as appropriate. All forms of collective worship contain some form of scripture, whether it be a full passage or just a short sentence for reflection and meditation.
All children are involved and given an opportunity to respond in an act of daily worship. This gives all involved, time to contemplate the mystery of God, the wonder of life and to draw us closer to God. Our collective worship policy is here.
Our classes are taking turns in leading the school in Celebrating the Word. The children help us to gather, prepare the readings, the reflections and the mission to go out and live out the message of the Gospel in our everyday lives. The younger children enjoy creative worship sessions prepared and led by their adults. As the children get older, the expectation is that they lead parts of the worship, leading to Year 5 and 6 planning and leading their own 4-part worship sessions. Children have access to a range of resources to support their independence including worship packs with scriptures for them to choose as well as opening prayers, reflections and 'going forth' missions. Each class has their own beautiful prayer focal points in class which change according to the Liturgical Year.
We celebrate Mass together as a whole school at certain times in the Year. Classes also have paired opportunities to celebrate mass with Fr Chris to experience a more personal approach and to give the children further opportunities to celebrate mass together in school.
Diocese of Leeds Singing Programme
The Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme is recognised as the UK’s leading Catholic singing provision. Every week, Lizzie Leather leads our KS2 children in singing the the best in sacred and secular songs, carefully chosen to develop the children’s vocal and musical development and feed into school collective worship and masses.
Jubilee 2025
Pope Francis decreed that 2025 would be a year of Jubilee, a holy year which happens every 25 years in the Catholic Church. The theme of the Jubilee is 'Pilgrims of Hope'; an opportunity for us to reflect on what hope is and how we can bring hope to our world.
We launched the Jubilee with a special Celebration of the Word assembly, where we prayed together the Jubilee Prayer and sang the Jubilee Hymn.
Lectio Divina
Children have had the opportunity during Lent to immerse themselves in scripture and prayer through Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is a form of praying with scripture, often in group form. Children have the opportunity to listen to a piece of scripture and spend time in prayerful silence, reflecting on any words or phrases that stood out to them in the passage. The scripture is then read again, giving the children a chance to experience a deeper connection with The Word.
Mini Vinnies
The Society of St Vincent de Paul has been engaging with young people and education since its earliest days. Today, it maintains strong links with young people through its Mini Vinnies programme. Mini Vinnies are children aged between 7 to 11 who, with the permission of their parents and the support of their schools, are encouraged to embark on their first steps as possible Vincentians for life. As Mini Vinnies, the youngsters have their own treasured Prayer, Pledge and Badge, a dedicated website and a range of bright and colourful documents which guide them in their formative steps - helping and enabling them to become in every sense, young Vincentians or Mini Vinnies.
At Sacred Heart, our Mini Vinnies are a small but effective team from each class across school. The team live the school's ethos statement, Together, We Learn and Grow in God's Love, and they work in school to raise funds and awareness for local charities. They hold weekly meetings where they plan and discuss how they can lead the way for other children to live by the example of Jesus through their actions and words.
Prayer and reflection journals
Children have personal prayer and reflection journals that they use during Celebration of the Word. This is time for the children to strengthen their own relationship with God, to reflect on the message of the Word and to write their own prayers, drawing their ideas or writing their own thoughts. It is a quiet moment of personal meditation.
Staff prayers
As a staff, we gather together every Tuesday morning to pray together. This gives us an opportunity in the midst of a busy week to spend some time in quiet prayer together. We pray for our own intentions or those around us that need God's help.