What do we want our RE curriculum to achieve?

At St. Peter’s, we want children to be curious, reflective and respectful learners who explore life’s big questions about worldviews with open minds and open hearts. Through meaningful stories, real-life encounters and joyful celebrations, children learn to understand world religions and worldviews—and how people live them out with care, love and faith.

RE at St. Peter’s encourages children to think deeply about belief and belonging. Children are challenged to link ideas with their own experiences and consider how they can Take Care of themselves, others and the world around them.

By engaging in thoughtful discussion, creative expression and big questions, we help children develop spiritual awareness and empathy. They discover that RE is about real people, real lives, and real choices—and that understanding difference is a powerful way to show care and compassion in our diverse world.

 

Why is RE important to us?

RE helps our children make sense of the world and their story within it. It teaches them to value difference, build bridges across beliefs and ask the kind of thoughtful questions that lead to deeper understanding and respectful relationships.

In our ‘Take Care’ school, we see RE as a subject that nurtures character, empathy and courage. It empowers children to make informed choices, appreciate diverse worldviews and consider how they might act justly and kindly in their everyday lives.

RE is vital because it links personal identity with community, local with global, and the past with present day belief. It gives our children tools to talk, think and reflect—not just about religion, but about how to live well and take care of each other in our world.

 

How do we develop knowledge and skills in RE?

We follow the Nottinghamshire Agreed Syllabus alongside the Understanding Christianity resource to ensure children explore a rich variety of religions and worldviews. Learning is layered and progressed across year groups, so children revisit key concepts in increasing depth as they grow through their St. Peter’s journey.

Children build their understanding by engaging with stories, symbols, texts and artefacts. They learn to interpret meaning, spot similarities and differences and reflect on how beliefs shape actions. Our lessons encourage respectful curiosity and give children space to discuss, question and make connections.

Across every year group, children are supported to express their own ideas and stories to where they belong while listening carefully to others—skills that sit right at the heart of our Take Care ethos. They learn to think like theologians, philosophers and sociologists, all while becoming confident, reflective learners.

 

How do we use assessment in RE?

We assess children’s progress in RE through a mix of practical work, discussions, written reflections and pupil voice. Children’s understanding is tracked across key knowledge and concepts using our progression documents and unit-end tasks for incarnation and salvation.

Rather than ticking boxes, we focus on how well children can explain ideas, ask thoughtful questions and make links between religious stories and real-life situations. We listen carefully to how they respond to big questions and how they make sense of their learning.

Assessment in RE is all about noticing, nurturing and challenging children’s thinking. It helps us make sure every child is growing in understanding—and, just as importantly, in kindness and care for others.

 

How do we include and challenge all children in RE?

We believe RE is for everyone—every child, every ability, every background. We adapt learning so that all pupils, including those with SEND, can access, enjoy and succeed in RE lessons.

Visual aids, key vocabulary, pre-teaching and scaffolds help all learners engage meaningfully. Open-ended questions and creative tasks allow children to explore big ideas at their own level, with opportunities to stretch their thinking and challenge assumptions.

We value diversity and bring global voices into the classroom to celebrate different ways of living and believing. In RE, mistakes are learning opportunities and every viewpoint is heard—because showing care and respect for each other is the most important lesson of all.