Worldviews Curriculum

At Christ Church, Church of England Academy, we use a worldviews approach to teaching Religious Education(RE).

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?
A worldview is a person’s way of understanding, experiencing and responding to the world. It can be described as a philosophy of life or an approach to life. This includes how a person understands the nature of reality and their own place in the world. A person’s worldview is likely to influence and be influenced by their beliefs, values, behaviours, experiences, identities and commitments. Religion and Worldviews: The Way Forward, Commission on RE (2018)

This worldviews approach reflects the diversity of our school community, where we welcome families of multiple religious faiths and families of non religious faiths. Our hope is to ensure by using this approach, all communities feel welcomed as it is a more inclusive. 

We believe that we can further develop children's religious literacy, through the study of religious and non-religious worldviews.  Our children today are growing up in a world where there is an increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and they will need to live and work well with people with very different worldviews from themselves. Knowledge of religious and non-religious worldviews is an essential part of all young people’s entitlement to education. Our aim is to enable each child to understand, reflect on and develop their own personal worldview in a safe environment. Through understanding how worldviews are formed and
expressed at both individual and communal levels, the ways in which they have changed over time, and their influence on the actions of individuals, groups and institutions, with time for reflection each child can consider their own worldview in light of their learning and come to a better understanding or themselves and others. 

The Church of England's Statement of Entitlement (see link) highlights the importance of schools to provide meaningful and informed dialogue with a range of religions and worldviews. There should be opportunities for them to understand the role of foundational texts, beliefs, rituals, and practices and how they help form identity in a range of religions and worldviews.

We also follow The Kent Agreed syllabus: Principal aim of RE in the Kent Agreed Syllabus is:

To engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.