Religious Education

Blackburn is a multi-cultural and diverse town. Subsequently, The Olive School, Blackburn, is a multicultural school. We are proud of our heritages and celebrate the rich diversity that is prevalent throughout our community.  At The Olive School, Blackburn children learn the skills, knowledge and understanding to be a well-informed and empathetic citizen of Blackburn, modern Britain and the world. They develop an understanding of different religions and world views through learning about different beliefs and practices and how sources of wisdom are used in stories. Our children also learn the importance of symbols and actions and how prayer, worship and reflection plays an important part in developing identity and belonging as well as developing their sense of wonder through asking ultimate questions.  Children learn about what is right and wrong, including through the teaching our Star values. Children explore moral stories in order to learn about justice and fairness.

At The Olive School, Blackburn, we believe that our religious education is at the core of everything that we do. We will promote a culture of educational excellence, from within a caring and secure Islamic environment, enriched with the values of discipline, mutual care and respect, which will extend beyond the school into the wider community. As a school, we will take a progressive, outward-facing, inclusive and globally-orientated interpretation of the Islamic faith.

We will therefore reflect the core tenets of Islam – an emphasis on self-discipline, compassion, mutual respect for all and for the earth itself. Here, we will celebrate all that faith has to give and instill a sense a joy at being part of the local and wider community. We will have an inclusive approach to faith, which welcomes people of all faiths and none – recognising that we are all part of, and contribute to, something far greater than ourselves.

Our wider faith programme will be supported by our ‘4Cs Framework’, which focussed on the four key themes of character, creativity, community and curriculum. Within this, we pledge that our religious education (RE) curriculum will support the work of the local Standing Advisory Council on RE (SACRE). Our religious education will build a deep understanding and appreciation of all the major world religions – Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism, as well as the humanist tradition, whilst also finding natural opportunities within all sequences of learning to draw connections with the Islamic faith.

Key elements of our RE curriculum:

• Our scheme of work draws upon both the local SACRE religious framework and our Islamic faith designation. We celebrate both our diverse communities and the faith of Islam.
• British Values are woven into all RE learning, particularly the tolerance of those with different faith and beliefs, and mutual respect. This ensures that our children are prepared for life in modern Britain.
• It embraces the community of Blackburn, recognising and learning about local places of worship including: mosques, churches, synagogues and temples.
• Associated elements of our PSHE curriculum are also incorporated into sequences of learning, such as ‘Living in the Community’ and ‘Respectful Relationships’.
• Or scheme of work is delivered through an engaging enquiry-based approach, which developed our children’s critical thinking skills and increases their knowledge and understanding of different religions whilst also comparing and contrasting with the Islamic faith.
• Our sequences of learning coherently develop the strands of: ‘Beliefs and teachings’; ‘Inspirational people and leadership’; ‘Celebration and festivals’; ‘Suffering and gratitude’; ‘Religion, family and community’; and ‘Death and beyond’. Component knowledge from these strands is built upon through the years to build broad and deep RE schema for each religion, including their origins, settings, cultures, stories, sights and sounds.

Our knowledge-rich RE curriculum is delivered via the following long term plan:

Our children are given motivating and inspiring cross-curricular opportunities and special experiences to embed essential learning.  This enrichment is an essential element of our RE curriculum offer.  For example:

• Reading assemblies that address moral stories;
• A variety of religious leaders who visit the school to talk to children during their RE lessons;
• The opportunity to visit a range of places of worship;
• Daily prayers and supplication;
• Performance of songs with faith messages including choir;
• Star Leader programme, e.g. Head Boy and Head Girl; Year 6 Prefects, Class Monitors, Playground Monitors;
• School council;
• Visits to places of worship;
• School twinning programme;
• Spirituality Days;
• Seerah Week;
• Ramadan (a month of activities);
• Hajj Week;
• Children’s Mental Health Week;
• A full annual programme of assemblies, incorporating ‘Hadith of the Week’ and British Values;
• A range of activities to promote the Star values of Service, Teamwork, Ambition, Respect, e.g. Children in Need, Jeans4Genes, MacMillan, Winter Gift Programme, Ramadan fundraising, Food bank;
• The delivery of our Faith and Character Education (FCE) Framework, which focuses on: promoting resilience and confidence; identity and relationships; service and enrichment; and equality and opportunity;
• The Star Mini- Diploma –a prestigious Trust award focussing on the conduct and personal growth of our children.