1/n The start of a new year will see a lot of teachers joining Catholic education, possibly for the first time, and one of the things that often worries people the most is how to plan/deliver/lead worship. So though it might be useful to give a few tips to consider

2/n Firstly, some general principles: 1) remember collective worship is first and foremost about giving glory, honour, thanks and praise to God. It is allowing children to spend time with God - to offer Him their their thanks, their concerns, regrets, their petitions - all & more

3/n Next 2): as such collective worship is *not* a performance. It is not for an audience, or to give kids chance to perform - it is an opportunity given to spend time with God, which children might sometimes lead or be involved in, but which is always ultimately focused on God

4/n Finally 3) prayerfulness takes practice - and not all kids (or indeed adults!) get it straight away. That's fine! Keep at it, treat developing in prayefulness the same way you would everything else - talk about how best to sit, to quieten the mind, etc. That's important too!

5/n Now on to the mechanics - it's fair to say that there is no single format here used by all, and people will have strong views about how best to lead collective worship. Still, some things I've found useful/helpful might prove useful for you too - so...

6/n Structure is important, especially in the early days if you're trying to get something established, or going through this process yourself for the first. I don't think you can go far wrong with the format: Gather, Listen, Respond, Proclaim/Go Forth

7/n Gather: this is about bringing or calling people to prayer, showing that we are about to enter something important which needs marking, helping set the atmosphere. Most religions have a gathering call - whether it's church bells, or the Adhan, or whatever -

8/n There are various ways to achieve this - perhaps ringing a bell, or you could use the extended sound of church bells on YouTube. Some will use a single bell and then follow with meditative music, giving the children chance to come to worship, quieten their minds, and be still

9/n Listen: Following an introduction to the theme of the worship, always try to make sacred Scripture a part of worship - get children used to hearing the Word. Avoid the temptation to turn worship into a taught lesson, full of hands-up questions and curriculum links. Focus on >

10/n listening to the Gospel, taking it in, reflecting on the words. Sometimes a period of silence once the reading is finished, certainly for older children, can be helpful, perhaps with some more (appropriate!) music.

11/n Respond: Bring the worship toward a response to what has been heard. By all means allow the children to share and explore their thoughts and reflections, and don't be scared to share your own! This is not a lesson, and sometimes you will be surprised what they come up with >

12/n and it might not be what you expected, but that's ok! Keep in mind what you hoped to focus on within the worship, but if something else comes along that is appropriate too - remember this is worship, not a lesson with a set objective!

13/n This point is often a good time to offer prayer intentions - those who we wish the Lord to keep in his favour, which for the children might be anyone! You can do this by simply calling out a name who they wish the Lord to remember, or have some more silent time, or perhaps

14/n have a prayer cross that is handed round the circle in silence, with each child offering up their intention as they receive it. Once this is finished, say a group prayer together, or let the prayer leader say a prayer with the children to collectively say amen at the end.

15/n Go Forth - this is about how we are going to apply our insights/thoughts/understanding to our every day life. There are lots of whays to achieve this, but perhaps the simplest is by the children offering examples, or resolutions, and sharing together. I have seen some >

16/n hand out a little card with a key word on, or an act of kindness, or encouraged the children to write a key name, as a sort of aide memoire to help them apply Scripture to their everyday lives. For me I always found it too fussy - an internal resolution is fine!

17/n some other tips it might be worth considering: 1) plan your prayer like you plan everything else - it will go best when it has been explicitly thought about. Remember, collective worship is for the adults too! I have templates if anybody would like

18/n in time, develop prayer leaders so children can lead collective worship. Create a prayer box with essential items (crucifix, prayer cards, candles, petition baskets, rosaries, beads, all sorts!) and have them plan their prayer sessions and then lead it using the same format

19/n If you don't think they're ready for this yet, don't go full hog but train them and bring it in slowly - with good prep (let me know if you need planners for kids), they can do a great job. Collective worship should ideally be a good mixture between adult led and child-led

20/ As a rule of thumb, think of collective worship (as opposed to collective worship in assemblies) as lasting around about 1 minute per year of age of the children in front of you. So a typical Year 1 class, around 5-6 minutes; a Year 6 class, try 10-11.

21/n Don't be afraid of silence! It is intimidating at first, and it might take some time for the children to get good at it, but it is an important skill so do keep up with it! By Year 5/6, try for longer and longer periods of reflective, thoughtful silence - it can be blissful!

22/n Think about a prayer book or intentions book, or even some petition/prayer cards, and leaving them on your collective worship table - these can be an alternative for children to use during collective worship and can be a more comfortable way for the more shy to be involved

23/n Remember the Church has a treasure trove of resources that can be used! Use them! Two thousand years' worth of prayers and reflections and the like - use in your worship schedule, have the children know and become comfortable with them, give them the opportunity to practise

24/n Traditional prayers can be incredibly useful in giving something to say when you don't know how to pray, or don't feel skilled in prayer - they can be a way for all to be involved even if they find bits difficult. And often, they like it - knowing quality things by heart

25/n Remember we can all progress in prayer just as we can in, say, spelling - so don't be afraid of thinking about progression in prayer, building in complexity, using more difficult resources (Angelus? Salve? Tantum?), and most importantly: allowing practice!

26/n there are probably a load of other things I could say that I can't think of right now, but anyway I hope this has been useful. If you need anything, or would like any resources, get in touch or DM and I'll happily send stuff through.