Seven structured discussions that turn the Year 8 RED branch ‘Desert to Garden’ into spoken theology — with scaffolds for every pupil and SEND built in.

Oracy and Catholic RE belong together: the Directory’s Ways of Knowing, Discern and Respond, are things pupils do out loud. Each session takes the key learning of one lesson in the branch and makes pupils reason about it: a genuine theological question, a named talk protocol, three tiers of scaffold (Launch, Build, Stretch), an Objection-and-Reply stretch in the pattern of St Thomas Aquinas, a scholar’s voice, and a sixty-second spoken answer that becomes a written one. Rigorous: every session cites the Catechism by paragraph, names the heresy or the council, and asks pupils to answer the strongest objection, not the weakest. Scaffolded: sentence stems, talk roles, rehearsal time and visual prompts sit on every Talk Mat, so no pupil is singled out.

THE SEVEN SESSIONS

1. Why did the Servant have to suffer? (Think, Pair, Square)
2. Why doesn’t God stop it? (Community of Enquiry)
3. Did Job deserve it? (Hot Seat the Expert)
4. Can you offer it up? (Build, Challenge, Clarify)
5. Is giving up chocolate really religion? (Where Do You Stand?)
6. Why tell a priest? (Talk Detectives)
7. Is there a good way to die? (Fishbowl)

WHAT YOU GET: 7 illustrated session decks (14 slides each), a Teacher Guide with model answers for every objection, a Student Talk Pack of two-page Talk Mats, a Talk Knowledge Organiser, an Oracy & Discernment Assessment Pack (four-strand rubric, Speaking Assessment, Pupil Oracy Log) and a SEND & Access Booklet. Runs as a 15–20 minute Talk Slot inside the matching RE lesson, a full 50–60 minute Talk Lesson, or the spoken assessment of the branch.

Complements the Year 8 Verity Catholic RE units and works alongside any RED-aligned scheme. Fully editable. Single-school licence.

Aligned to To Know You More Clearly: The Religious Education Directory for Catholic Schools, Colleges and Academies in England and Wales (© Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2023; published by the Catholic Education Service). An independent teaching resource written to support the Directory’s branches and outcomes; it does not reproduce the Directory’s text and is not an official or approved edition. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, approved by or produced by the Catholic Education Service, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales or any diocese. Oracy approach informed by the Oracy Skills Framework (Voice 21 and Oracy Cambridge, University of Cambridge, 2018), an openly published framework; referenced, not reproduced. Catechism references are by paragraph number; Scripture is cited by reference. Illustrations are original to Verity Education and were produced using generative AI tools. © Verity Education 2026. Licensed for use within the purchasing school.