Religious Education
At St Christopher’s Primary School, our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is guided by three core types of knowledge—substantive, disciplinary, and personal—ensuring pupils engage deeply with beliefs, worldviews, and their own perspectives. Our goal is to move beyond simply imparting religious facts to build a balanced, inclusive, and critical understanding of religion and worldviews in the modern world.
Core Framework of Our RE Curriculum:
- Substantive Knowledge (Content Mastery): Pupils build a strong foundation of factual knowledge regarding religious beliefs, practices, and traditions. We teach children that individuals may practise their faith differently while remaining rooted in shared core principles, exploring four key concepts: Identity and Belonging, Meaning and Purpose, Power and Authority, and Values and Morality.
- Disciplinary Knowledge (Critical Engagement): Pupils learn to engage with content using the tools and methodologies of experts:
- Theology (What do people believe?): Analysing and interpreting religious texts and stories.
- Lived Experiences (How do people live?): Exploring how social and cultural contexts shape real-world religious practices.
- Philosophy (How do people reason?): Developing skills in ethical reflection, reasoning, and constructive debate.
- Personal Knowledge (Reflective Worldviews): Children are supported in reflecting on and articulating their own personal beliefs and values. Rather than just asking what they think, pupils consider why they hold their views and how their background shapes their perspective.
A Worldview-Focused Approach:
By framing learning around broad "worldviews" rather than strictly traditional religious categories, our curriculum ensures relevance and inclusivity for all pupils, whether religious or non-religious. While rooted primarily in Christian traditions to reflect local heritage, pupils systematically explore a diverse range of global perspectives—equipping them with the analytical tools and empathy needed for secondary education and life in a diverse society.
