RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT OAK GREEN SCHOOL

Why do we teach what we teach? (Our intent)

At Oak Green School we are proud of the diverse, multicultural and rich community that we are part of and our aim is to develop all our children in to strong, thoughtful and inquisitive learners who are not afraid to explore their own beliefs as well as develop a deeper understanding and tolerance for others.

We aim to extend the children’ knowledge so that they know even more about the different religions and worldviews, and equip them with the skills and knowledge to be able to answer thought provoking questions and puzzling questions about the world around them in an informed and sensitive way.  We want them to be able to confidently understand and express their view to the question in an informed, reasoned and well executed manner that is considerate of other’s thought and beliefs.   At the forefront of our RE curriculum is our sense of community which allows the children to explore their identity and community in at a local, national and worldwide context.

Overall our intent is that our RE curriculum will equip the children with the  honesty ,respect ,friendship, kindness, trust and fairness  necessary  for our pupils to develop into well-rounded individuals that are not afraid to explore their meaning in life whilst also living harmoniously  in the everchanging and diverse world the we live in.

How do we teach it? (Our implementation)

At Oak Green we follow the Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus for RE which is based on learning and deepening their beliefs by learning from religion through learning about religion. Over the course of each term, the children will be presented with an enquiry question.  For each question the children will follow the same enquiry cycle. They will start by exploring and identifying their own meaning to the question by reflecting on their own experiences and self-concepts.  They will then have to opportunity to investigate, reflect and respond to different religions or worldviews responses to the question before applying this all by giving an informed and justified response to the enquiry question at hand.

In line with the Bucks Agreed Syllabus and our countries underlying British Values all Key Stages learn about Christianity.   Key stage 1 explore further one other religion (Judaism) as well as touching on Hindu Dharma traditions.  Lower Key Stage 2 build on this by then continuing to look at Hindu Dharma in depth alongside Islam.   This continues in Upper Key Stage 2  where the children are also introduced to Hinduism and other religious and non- religious views where appropriate.

At Oak Green School, we value all religious and non-religious views and therefore the children have the opportunity to explore other views such as Sikhism through carefully planned visits, visitors, assemblies and specialist days.

What is the difference that this makes? (Our impact)

As children progress through the school, they begin to understand that everyone is entitled to their own ideas about religion, whether they are believers or not. They begin to understand that tolerance towards others and respect is a very important value. Through the teaching of Christianity and learning about other beliefs, children start to think about universal values that are held and find out that Christianity is a world religion which has a major impact on the laws and culture of Britain and many other countries.