Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is at the heart of life at St Peter’s and underpins our mission to put Jesus at the heart of everything we do.
Through the diocesan Religious Education programme, children develop a deep understanding of Scripture, Catholic teaching and traditions, while learning about other faiths and worldviews. Lessons encourage pupils to think critically, ask questions and reflect on their own beliefs and values. RE plays a vital role in nurturing pupils' spiritual, moral and social development and helps them understand their responsibilities as members of God's family.
Inspired by St Peter’s declaration, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68), we encourage our children to follow Peter’s example, learning from Jesus and growing in faith, wisdom and understanding.
Our Catholic ethos permeates every aspect of school life. Religious Education is taught through the Birmingham Diocesan programme Discerning Disciples and is enriched through prayer, worship, liturgical celebrations and daily opportunities to live out Gospel values.
Discerning Disciples is aligned with the Religious Education Directory (RED). It is structured around six core curriculum branches that children revisit each year to deepen their faith.
Every RE lesson is structured around a core knowledge ‘discern statement’ and the DISCERN model. Through this model, pupils will Know, Discern and Respond.
- - Dialogue
- - Introduce new knowledge
- - Scaffolded support
- - Collaborative conversation
- - Evaluate understanding
- - Record responses
- - Next steps
Like the rest of our curriculum, we teach Discerning Disciples through a two-year rolling programme due to our mixed-age classes in Y1-Y6. Reception repeat the curriculum each year. This curriculum was launched in September 2026. Class 2 began with Year 1 curriculum, Class 3 with Year 3 and Class 4 with Year 5.
The Discerning Disciples curriculum also supports children in exploring different faith traditions encouraging respect, dialogue and mutual understanding. In this way, RE enables children to become discerning disciples who are confident in their own faith, appreciative of diversity, and prepared to live well with people of all beliefs in modern Britain.
Through the RE curriculum, we help children grow in faith, character and confidence, enabling them to become the person God calls them to be, living out the Diocesan mission: Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for justice.
Right to Withdraw from Religious Education (RE)
Religious Education is part of the curriculum for all pupils in England. However, parents and carers have the legal right to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education lessons without giving a reason.
At St Peter's, we encourage parents and carers to discuss any concerns with the Principal before making a decision, so that they can fully understand the aims, content and educational value of the RE curriculum. However, parents' and carers' legal right to withdraw their child from all or part of RE will always be respected.
Requests for withdrawal should be made in writing to the Principal. Where a pupil is withdrawn from RE, the school will ensure appropriate supervision is provided, but is not required to provide alternative RE teaching.
For further information, please contact the school office or refer to the Department for Education guidance on Religious Education.
As a Catholic school, we place Jesus at the heart of everything we do. Religious Education is therefore a central part of our curriculum and school life, helping pupils grow in faith, values and understanding of the world around them. We hope all pupils will participate fully in RE, whilst recognising and respecting the legal right of parents and carers to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education.
Click here to read our RE Curriculum Overview: update in progress
"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
2 Peter 3:18