At Christ the King we provide many opportunities for both children and staff to deepen their understanding and knowledge of the Catholic Social Teaching principles. We live out our faith in our community and the wider world. The values are rooted in Scripture, formed by the wisdom of Church leaders, and influenced by grassroots movements. They are our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith. Our belief in God helps us to be global citizens. We teach the children about the dignity of the human person, how we are called to live as family and community, about rights and responsibilities, that we are called to stewardship, our responsibility for the poor and vulnerable, about the dignity and rights of workers and about solidarity and the promotion of peace. We do this through RE lessons, assemblies, outside visitors, through drama, debate, and first-hand experience. As a result, our children feel that they are making a difference to the world by having an impact on Social Justice.
KS1, Ages 3-6
The Dignity of the Human Person
God made each of us, which means each of us is very special. It is not important if you are tall or small, or happy or sad, or if you have many toys or no toys. What is important is that each of us is special because of God’s love, and we must treat others in a caring way because they were made by God too.
We are Called to Live as Family and Community
Jesus Knows that people can only be happy if they have families and friends. He tells us that we can let these important people help us. He asks us to help them too.
Rights and Responsibilities
All of God’s people need these things: food, work, clothes, a home, a school, and a doctor to help when they are sick. Every single person on earth needs these. Some people have what they need, but many people don’t. Jesus wants the people who already have what they need to help these others. Jesus wants us to take care of this.
We are called to Stewardship
God made the earth and sky. God made all the people all over the world. God made the spiders and dogs and butterflies and tigers and pandas and all the other animals. God made the tulips, the trees, the tomatoes and all the plants. God tells us we must take good care of them, it is an important job.
An Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
You need food, water, a house, your school, a good doctor and a job for the grown-up who takes care of you. So does everybody else on earth. But there are many people who do not have these things. Jesus wants us to take extra care of these people.
The Dignity and Rights of Workers
All people work in some way. Their work should be safe and helpful to them because God made them. By our work, we help ourselves and others, and we show our love to God.
Solidarity
All people are God’s children. That makes us brothers and sisters. We are connected to each other. It is as if everyone in the world held hands! We can be very different from each other, but we are still one family – God’s family.
Promotion of Peace
When we fall out with our friends we must say sorry, try to put things right and then try to be even better friends. We must always try to live in peace and get on with everyone. This is not easy, but Jesus wants us to keep on trying.
KS2, 7+
The Dignity of the Human Person
God made each one of us. This makes us incredibly special. It doesn’t matter who we are, who our friends are, what we own, or what we look like. What matters is that we are special because we are God’s children. This means that we must treat others with respect and fairness because God made us all.
We are called to live as Family and Community
Jesus understood that people need each other. We all need our families, friends and neighbours. He tells us that these important people can help us. Jesus says we must help them too. Doing this, we create a loving community where everyone can live life to the full.
Rights and Responsibilities
All God’s people have the right to food, work, clothes, a home, school and medical care. These ‘rights’ are things that every person on earth needs in order to live life to the full. But many people do not have them. Jesus wants people who enjoy these rights to help their sisters and brothers obtain their rights. It is not enough to feel badly for others. Jesus says it is our responsibility to see that everyone receives his or her rights.
We are called to Stewardship
The earth and all life on it is God’s creation. We are called to take care of it because it is a holy gift from God and only place we can live. When we make bad our thoughtless use of the world’s resources, many people suffer. When we make good choices about how we treat other living things (people, animals, plants) we help all living things to live as God intends. Making wise choices about the care of God’s creations is called good stewardship.
An option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Every person needs food, water, work, housing, school and medical care. Those who do not have these are poor. Our church teaches that these sisters and brothers must be treated with extra respect and extra care and have access to what they need. Those who are not poor must share must share what they have with others because the gifts of God’s world are for all people.
The Dignity and Rights of Workers
Everyone’s work is of value. There are many kinds of work. In each job, workers deserve to be treated with respect, work safely, work reasonable hours, and earn fair wages. They deserve this because they are made by God. Our work gives us the means to live, but it is also a chance to use the talents God gives us. Our work is our way of cooperating with God to help create a better world.
Solidarity
The world’s people are interdependent. This means we need each other if we are to live. We must work together if we are to go on living. When we walk alongside our sisters and brothers around the world and learn from each other, we call this solidarity. Even though there are huge distances between us, we are still one family – the family of God.
Promotion of Peace
We are called to forgive others. When we have done something wrong we must try to put things right, not just by saying sorry but by changing our behaviour. Jesus teaches us to live in peace with one another. He says we must forgive those who hurt us and make friends again. This is not easy and we all need to work at promoting peace in order to have one just world.
