Understanding Christianity Cohort 1 – Primary (27/01/26)

Description

Audience: All those involved in teaching RE in primary mainstream and SEND schools. Diocesan advisers, MAT leads, SACREs.

Age range: 4-11

Course Area: High Quality Practice, Curriculum Design, Lesson Sequence, Assessment

Area of Focus: Pedagogy and Practice

Online course details:

Date and time:

Cohort 1:

Session 1: Friday 13 November 2025 (1-4PM)
Session 2: Tuesday 27 January 2026 (1-4PM)
Session 3: Wednesday 20 May 2026 (1-4PM)

Area of focus:Teaching and learning

Trainers:National RE Adviser –Julia Diamond-Conway

School Phase:Primary (4-11)

Price: £210

Course features

This tried and tested three session course allows attendees to explore the Understanding Christianity resource. The substantial Understanding Christianity resource directly supports many locally agreed syllabuses and is freely available for use in schools which send a member of staff on the course. The resource supports good quality teaching about Christianity and can be used within the requirements of your syllabus guidelines.

The Understanding Christianity resource includes:

• Teacher’s Handbook

• 22 detailed units of work

• 100+ pages of photo-copiable resources

• Wall frieze showing the ‘big story’ of the Bible, to back up the units

• Online access to the resource – available to use within your school.

Training Package

The three sessions cover the seven different training modules – schools need to attend all sessions.

This follows recommendations from the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring and the Teacher Development Trust that effective training should be intense and sustained, the expectation is that teachers in primary schools will have at least 10 hours of CPD on Understanding Christianity. There will be gaps between sessions when schools will try out or work on the approach, in a ‘gap task’, returning to explore further in the next session. Feedback and discussion on these ‘gap tasks’ will be included in sessions two and three, so that teachers can share ideas and learn from each other’s experiences.

Session 1: Module 1 (Introduction) & Module 3 (The ‘big story’ of the Bible)

Session 2: Module 2 (Teaching and learning model), Module 4 (Planning great teaching & learning) & Module 6 (The ‘big story’: digging deeper)

Session 3: Module 5 (Purpose and impact), & Module 7 (Curriculum design)

Who is the course for?

This course is designed to benefit your staff in multiple ways:

First Timers: If you are new to Understanding Christianity, this extensive resource will equip you with high-quality subject knowledge through online training, handbook and classroom resources to teach outstanding Religious Education.

New Staff Members: Bring new team members up to speed with Understanding Christianity quickly and efficiently.

Curriculum Alignment: If Understanding Christianity is part of your Agreed Syllabus.

Knowledge Refresh: Even if your teaching staff is already familiar with Understanding Christianity, this course offers an opportunity to deepen their understanding and refresh teaching strategies.

Benefits of attending- for the delegate:

• Develop subject knowledge of Christianity in line with the Understanding Christianity resource.

• Build confidence in teaching RE, especially when tackling complex theological ideas with pupils.

• Learn to navigate and use the resource effectively, maximising its units, handbook, and online materials.

• Acquire practical strategies for teaching Christianity in a concept-led, engaging way.

• Develop skills in planning lessons and sequences that align with syllabus requirements.

• Benefit from peer-to-peer learning, sharing experiences and approaches with other teachers.

• Leave the course equipped to make RE more engaging and meaningful for pupils.

Benefits of attending – for the school:

• Access to the full Understanding Christianity resource (including online access and physical materials).

• Consistency in RE provision across year groups, with good progression in Christianity throughout the curriculum.

• Excellent teaching of Christianity in alignment with locally agreed syllabuses.

• Staff who are more confident and knowledgeable, reducing any variability in RE teaching quality.

• Inspection evidence, with RE teaching that is structured, resourced, effective and tailored to your pupils.

Book your place via our online shop