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Children’s engagement with religions and worldviews in Leicestershire schools: The role of interfaith educational programmes in supporting trust and belonging

    Cohort 2026 Research Placement Project

    Coexistence mind map, concept for presentations and reports

    About The Project

    Respecting and valuing different religions and worldviews, and a recognition of shared values across humanity, play a key role in creating community trust, belonging and social cohesion. The St Philip’s Centre’s educational programme for schools aims to support literacy in religions and worldviews and the building of inter-personal relationships, understanding, and trust among children from different religious and worldview communities in Leicestershire. Every year, this programme reaches around 10,000 people, mostly aged 16 and under, every year in schools and colleges in Leicestershire. The in-person, in-school part of the programme consist of workshops, faith-assemblies and full-day roadshows representing a multitude of religions and worldviews.

    Rooted in Leicestershire community needs for intercultural and interfaith engagement and understanding among young people, this research placement project will engage with relevant scholarly works on how literacy about religious and non-religious worldviews may support everyday lived citizenship and social cohesion in culturally diverse communities in Leicestershire. The placement project will also examine the potential impact of the St Philip’s Centre’s educational programme for schools through participant observations and pre- and post-interviews of roadshow participants, including representatives from schools and public sector organisations.

    Project Aims 

    The overall aims of this project are:

    To identify further, perceived community needs among schools in Leicestershire regarding how they best can support and enhance pupils’ religion and worldview literacy.

    To identify key issues in how religious and worldview literacy is taught and promoted in primary schools in England and summarise these in a brief review.

    To examine stakeholders’ views of the potential impact of a specific school programme designed to increase the religious and worldview literacy of children in Leicestershire primary schools.

    Project Team