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Religious and moral education – Fourth level (Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland): What to Teach (Scotland)

Your Teacher Information Pack for Religious and moral education – Fourth level (Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland) in Scotland: the curriculum structure, our short summaries with links to the official wording, and key dates.

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Country
Scotland
Level
Fourth level
Ages
11/12–14/15
Source
Curriculum for Excellence – experiences and outcomes (broad general education)
Last checked
2026-10-20

Usually S1–S3; fourth level is broadly in line with SCQF level 4 (a guide, not a fixed year group). Roughly US Grades 7–9 (approximate).

Plan the whole year: open this course in the Year Planner – every lesson dated around your term dates, with a coverage check. Free.

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What to teach

Below are the experiences and outcomes with their official codes, in our own short summaries. Each code links to the official document.

Christianity: Beliefs

  • RME 4-01a Expressing reasoned views on Christian beliefs and their practical effects.
  • RME 4-01b Explaining Christian beliefs' contributions to Scotland, past and present.

Official wording

Christianity: Values and issues

  • RME 4-02a Relating Christian responses to moral issues to one's own values.
  • RME 4-02b Applying moral understanding to dilemmas to promote justice and compassion.
  • RME 4-02c Explaining how Christian values contribute to and challenge societies.

Official wording

Christianity: Practices and traditions

  • RME 4-03a Explaining Christian practices' significance across traditions today.
  • RME 4-03b Reflecting on responses to religious and cultural diversity, Scottish to global.

Official wording

World religions: Beliefs

  • RME 4-04a Expressing reasoned views on key beliefs and their practical effects.
  • RME 4-04b Explaining world religions' contributions to Scotland, past and present.

Official wording

World religions: Values and issues

  • RME 4-05a Relating world religion responses to moral issues to one's own values.
  • RME 4-05b Applying moral understanding to dilemmas to promote justice and compassion.
  • RME 4-05c Explaining how world religion values contribute to and challenge societies.

Official wording

World religions: Practices and traditions

  • RME 4-06a Considering the place of traditions and customs in contemporary life.
  • RME 4-06b Reflecting on Scotland's diversity and extending this to the global context.

Official wording

Development of beliefs and values

  • RME 4-07a Respecting others and understanding their beliefs and values.
  • RME 4-08a Developing awareness of own beliefs and acting on them positively.
  • RME 4-09a Expressing reasoned views on how beliefs and values might change society.
  • RME 4-09b Applying a range of moral viewpoints, including non-religious ones, to issues.
  • RME 4-09c Explaining own responses to benefits and challenges of diverse belief.
  • RME 4-09d Offering basic analysis of the origins and development of beliefs and morality.
  • RME 4-09e Applying philosophical enquiry to explore questions and ethical issues.

Official wording

Assessments and key dates

Qualifications Scotland exams 2027: Mon, 26 April 2027 to Thu, 3 June 2027 (timetable). There are no national tests of curriculum levels; teachers judge progress using the Benchmarks.

Trusted free resources

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More packs

Religious and moral education – Early level · Religious and moral education – First level · Religious and moral education – Second level · Religious and moral education – Third level · P1 Religious and moral education · P2 Religious and moral education · P3 Religious and moral education · P4 Religious and moral education · All Scotland packs · Find another TIP

Codes and structure from Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes and Benchmarks, Education Scotland (Crown copyright). Summaries are Classfern's own words – always read the official wording via the link.

No official wording is reproduced: codes and structure are facts, and the short descriptions are our own summaries. Always read the official wording via the links. Checked on 2026-10-20.

Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by Education Scotland, Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA) or the Scottish Government.