St Mary's CE
Primary School
Religious Education
Our RE Curriculum Intent
At St Mary’s, our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is designed to provide pupils with a comprehensive understanding of various religious and non-religious traditions, fostering their personal, spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. Through the study of religion, faith, and belief, we encourage children to explore deep questions about life, meaning, and purpose, promoting respect and understanding for diverse perspectives.
Established in our whole-school curriculum intent, our RE curriculum reflects our community’s identity, culture, and heritage, promoting inclusivity and empowering our children to tell their own stories. We ensure that RE is taught with academic rigour, enabling pupils to ‘know more and remember more’ through rich knowledge, ambitious vocabulary, and the embedded disciplines of philosophy, theology, and social science.
Guided by our theologically rooted vision, we embrace lifelong learning through our Christian foundations. Our RE curriculum enables all to flourish in our diversity of faith and belief, be ambitious, and be their unique selves. While maintaining a clear distinction between Collective Worship and RE, we also use RE as a vehicle for spiritual and moral growth, ensuring that pupils leave St Mary’s grounded in love, guided by peace, and inspired by hope as they navigate the world.
Alignment with St Mary’s Theological Vision and Community Context
1. Rooted in Christian Theology
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The curriculum maintains a clear emphasis on core Christian concepts (e.g. God, incarnation, salvation, Gospel, Kingdom of God) taught progressively from EYFS to Year 6.
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Pupils explore what it means to live out Christian values of love, peace, justice, forgiveness and hope.
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Christian belief is examined not only theologically, but in ethical and social terms, reflecting our vision of love in hearts, peace in actions, and hope in aspirations.
2. Reflecting the Diversity of Handsworth
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Our community is multi-faith, multicultural, and multilingual. The curriculum mirrors this with high-quality, enquiry-based units on Islam, Judaism, Hindu Dharma, Humanism, and Thematic Worldviews.
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Pupils explore religion as a lived experience through festivals, traditions, places of worship, and stories that matter to real people today.
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Two additional units on Sikhism have been added to RE Today, ensuring continued alignment with Birmingham’s religious diversity.
3. Empowering Children’s Voices and Stories
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A strong focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary enables children to articulate belief and experience confidently.
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Children are encouraged to share personal insights, ask questions, and reflect on their own identity and moral compass.
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RE enables every child to understand their own story and the stories of others, promoting empathy and critical thinking.
4. Academic Rigour and Disciplinary Depth
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The curriculum explicitly develops knowledge through the disciplines of Theology, Philosophy, and Social Science.
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Progression is mapped across 42 units (EYFS to Year 6), with vocabulary spiralling and revisiting key concepts.
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Children engage with challenging questions about truth, meaning, purpose, belief, and identity, with clear progression in vocabulary, reasoning and disciplinary understanding.
5. Supporting Lifelong Learning and Flourishing
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Through big questions and reflective enquiry, children are given the space to wonder (wow), wrestle with big questions (ow), and deepen their sense of self (now).
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The curriculum promotes spiritual development and moral formation, alongside academic success.
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RE contributes directly to pupils' capacity to live with confidence, integrity, and compassion in a diverse world.
This curriculum not only supports excellent RE learning but also forms a vital part of our wider Christian vision and whole-school identity.