Photo of a group of happy school students

The Flourishing Schools Program

Photo of a group of happy school students

The Flourishing Schools Program

Leaders of Christian ethos schools, Church schools, Catholic schools, are challenged to develop an educational community that is shaped by a Christian understanding of the human, the world and God.

For human beings, this includes their multiple dimensions, intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual, as well as their potential. They also must be led by an idea of the good that human society is capable of becoming, and the Christian contribution to that common good.

All schools are worldview schools, in that the school must find answers to the question of what it is for the human and society to flourish. These answers are shaped by narratives, metaphors and ideals, as well as the contexts those schools are in. Ultimately, they are forged in the encounters between people and how those encounters are shaped by a greater reality.

These pages provide deeper insights from many teachers and school leaders involved in projects undertaken by NICER with our partners, to understand more deeply the reality of Christian schooling today.

Over the last decade these projects have gone on to influence national policy for Church schools in many countries and given help to schools seeking to learn from the experience of others.

These insights are not simply of use to understanding Christian education, but they also open up deeper thinking about the idea that schools in plural and diverse societies, may be shaped by a worldview with something to offer, and that such shaping comes to impact the schools approach to spiritual development, how character is shaped by curriculum and pedagogy, and the particular role that RE has to play.

All of this speaks to and is impacted by the way in which teachers are formed and educated in teacher education and development.

These pages provide a way into a program of development for Christian schooling, informed by the insights of many schools, their teachers, pupils and leaders.

More Information

If you would like to arrange for a member of NICER to speak to you or your organisation about this area of work, email nicer@canterbury.ac.uk