Religious Education

At Oyster Park, our principle aim of Religious Education is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence that religions have on local, national and wider communities. We hope to provide children with the understanding and skills they need to appreciate and appraise varied responses, as well as develop their own thoughts and opinions. Linking to our SMSC curriculum and British Values we help to develop tolerant and respectful learners through developing an understanding of a range of religions and beliefs. Through the teaching of Religious Education, we will allow children to gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so they can articulate beliefs, find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth by responding creatively.

In Religious Education, we cultivate a reading culture by exposing children to a variety of genres through carefully planned activities. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, children listen to and share stories from different religions. They will focus on retrieving key information from the stories and will reflect on how the story made them feel. They will consider the moral of the story and how this may suggest that people from different faiths should live their lives. In Key Stage 2, children will be exposed to stories from different faiths and non-fiction texts. Children will use what they have read to support their understanding of different religions and use this to support them to express their own beliefs.

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. In Religious Education, Oracy is a powerful tool for learning. By teaching our pupils to become more effective speakers and listeners we aim to empower them to have a better understanding of themselves, each other and discuss and justify their beliefs.

At Oyster Park Primary Academy, we are aware that a child’s Religious Education ability and enquiring mind is not directly related to their writing or Mathematic ability. All children are given the opportunity to work with support appropriate to their SEN learning barriers. Children are encouraged and supported to ask their own questions as well as complete teacher led enquiries.