Intent, Implementation, Impact

Intent

At Haslam Park Primary School, Religious Education plays a vital role in reflecting and celebrating our richly diverse and multicultural community. Our curriculum is carefully designed so that all pupils see their own backgrounds, experiences and beliefs valued, while also developing knowledge and understanding of traditions beyond their own. Our RE curriculum is rooted in the twin principles of respect and tolerance, which underpin all teaching and learning. We aim to develop pupils’ religious literacy by enabling them to explore a range of religious and non-religious worldviews, understand how beliefs influence daily life, and make meaningful connections between different perspectives. We follow the Bolton Agreed Syllabus for RE (2025), which provides a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum for all learners. The syllabus engages pupils in deep thinking, encouraging them to question, reflect and critically engage with key concepts. Through this approach, pupils develop secure knowledge, conceptual understanding and the ability to articulate their own ideas with confidence and sensitivity. Our curriculum prepares pupils for life in modern Britain by fostering open-mindedness, empathy and thoughtful dialogue.

Implementation

Our RE curriculum is coherently sequenced to build knowledge and understanding over time. The order of units and the explicit teaching of different faiths have been carefully mapped to ensure progression across key stages. We use a spiral curriculum model, enabling pupils to revisit and deepen their understanding of core concepts through spaced learning. Individual religions are studied in depth before comparisons are introduced, ensuring secure foundations in knowledge and vocabulary. Christianity units are delivered using Understanding Christianity, which supports pupils in exploring key biblical concepts within the overarching narrative of the Bible. Units on Islam, Hinduism and Judaism are supported by materials from the Bolton Agreed Syllabus, ensuring consistency, challenge and accuracy across year groups. Learning is enriched through educational visits and visitors where appropriate, providing first-hand experiences that deepen understanding. Whole-school enrichment days for Diwali, Christmas and Eid further strengthen pupils’ cultural awareness and shared experiences.

Assessment is purposeful and responsive. Daily review activities are embedded within lessons to revisit key vocabulary and concepts, strengthening retrieval and addressing misconceptions in real time. Knowledge organisers support pupils in retaining essential knowledge. In addition, pupils participate in end-of-year ‘Mastermind’ quizzes, which provide an engaging opportunity to revisit and consolidate learning from across the year. These quizzes enable teachers to identify gaps or misconceptions and inform future curriculum planning, ensuring knowledge is secure and retained over time. RE is taught weekly and is adapted to ensure that pupils with SEND and those from all backgrounds can access and succeed in the curriculum. To reflect our approach to teaching and learning, we have strengthened our emphasis on making conceptual links within and across units to ensure pupil retention is strong. For example, in Key Stage 1, pupils explore the story of the Good Shepherd to connect the concepts of ‘Christ’, ‘community’, ‘disciple’ and ‘rescue’, building secure foundations for future learning.

Impact

Through our carefully sequenced and ambitious curriculum, pupils develop secure knowledge of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. They are able to use subject-specific vocabulary accurately, explain key concepts and make thoughtful comparisons between beliefs and practices. The use of ongoing formative and summative assessment: daily reviews and end-of-year Mastermind quizzes, ensures that misconceptions are identified and addressed promptly. As a result, pupils demonstrate improved retention of knowledge and increasing confidence in applying their understanding. The revisiting of core concepts across both key stages promotes depth of understanding and long-term learning. By the time pupils leave Haslam Park Primary School, they demonstrate respect, empathy and an informed understanding of different beliefs and cultures. They are able to engage in discussion thoughtfully, challenge ideas respectfully and reflect on their own values. The strong impact of our RE curriculum is seen in pupils’ confidence, curiosity and enjoyment of the subject. They leave us well prepared for the next stage of their education and equipped to contribute positively to a diverse and ever-changing society. Impact is measured via our approach to foundation subject assessment which is designed to measure retention. Assessment follows a clear cycle of curriculum coverage, daily reviews, end-of-year ‘Mastermind’ quizzes, targeted teaching and retesting. Daily reviews support knowledge retention, while Mastermind quizzes identify gaps and misconceptions. Teachers address these through targeted teaching in the following autumn term, with spring retests used to evaluate the impact of this approach and check longer-term retention. Ongoing pupil voice, with targeted participation from SEND and disadvantaged pupils, provides further quality assurance of teaching, understanding and retention.