RE and Collective worship

Inspiring and Nurturing Through Our RE Curriculum

At the heart of our school’s Christian vision, "Together we inspire and nurture so that everyone can flourish," is our RE curriculum, which plays a vital role in empowering all pupils to thrive.

Our curriculum provides pupils with a deep and meaningful understanding of Christianity, exploring its rich diversity and unique aspects. Alongside this, children engage with a broad range of religions, worldviews, and non-faith perspectives. By learning about the beliefs, practices, and philosophies of different faiths and those with no faith, pupils develop respect, empathy, and an informed understanding of the diverse world they live in.

Learning activities are thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of every pupil, encouraging the development of essential skills such as enquiry, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and reflection. Through these, pupils are equipped to navigate and appreciate the complexities of belief, identity, and belonging, whether they identify with a specific faith or none.

We create a safe, inclusive space where children can explore their own religious, spiritual, philosophical, or non-faith perspectives. Here, they are free to question, reflect, and develop their own ways of seeing the world.

Additionally, our RE curriculum actively contributes to British Values and the Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural Development of our pupils, ensuring they grow into thoughtful, informed, and compassionate individuals ready to engage with the wider world.

Article 14 (freedom of thought, belief and religion)
Every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and also to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child as they grow up.

• RE Policy
• RE in EYFS
• Collective Worship Policy
• Our previous SIAMS Inspection Report
• Spirituality Policy 

RE Curriculum

St Mary’s CofE Primary School teaches RE using the locally agreed syllabus “Believing and Belonging”.

Click on image to see further detail.

Due to mixed age classes from Y1-Y6, our RE curriculum follows a 2/3 year rolling programme, (see below).

We help our children understand that Christianity is a global living faith and there are Christians all over the world.

Our core value of community is central to nurturing our children as compassionate and responsible global citizens.

By exploring Christianity as a global, living faith, our children learn that they are part of a diverse and interconnected worldwide community of believers. 

Our children are encouraged to not only recognise the role of Christianity as a global community but that they can all participate in the impact such a community can have, showing them what global citizenship rooted in faith can achieve. 

We believe it is essential for children to understand that their actions—both as individuals and as part of a wider faith community—can have a meaningful impact on the world around them.

Through meaningful participation in charitable initiatives such as fundraising for Christian Aid and the Shoe Box Appeal, our children experience how Christian values can be lived out in service to others.

Parental Right to Withdraw

In the UK, parents have the right to withdraw their children from RE on the grounds that they wish to make their own provision. This alternative will be the parents' responsibility.

This right of withdrawal exists for all pupils in all types of schools, including schools with or without a religious designation.

Students aged 18 or over have the right to withdraw themselves from RE.

Parents also have the right to withdraw their child from part of RE and can do so without giving any explanation. 

Understanding Christianity

To support the locally agreed syllabus, teachers also use a supporting resource called ‘Understanding Christianity’, which compliments the curriculum.  Click on the ‘Understanding Christianity’ logo to visit the website.

Understanding Christianity’s approach to teaching about Christianity builds up pupils’ encounters with core concepts through biblical texts. Each unit addresses a concept, through key questions and core Bible texts and incorporates the three elements below:

• Making sense of the text: developing pupils’ skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians.
• Understanding the impact: examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world.
• Making connections: evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.