Department: English

Head of Department: Mr C Osbourne

If you wish to learn more about the curriculum, please contact the Head of Department by email: ­­­­c.osbourne@oaklandscatholicschool.org

Catholic Social teaching and the English curriculum

Catholic social teaching is concerned with global social issues, and the Church’s stance is to tackle the issues and find a way to resolve them. There are a number of areas within our curriculum where students are exposed to these issues and the Catholic view point can be discussed

For example:

1) Dignity of the Human Person: Life and dignity are supported through many areas of the curriculum – ranging from KS3 through to KS5. At KS3, many students have the opportunity to explore texts centred on injustice, identity and the mistreatment of others – especially those that concern larger themes and concepts linked to human experience (e.g. Romeo & Juliet, Trash, A Christmas Carol, Medea and our student voice units in Y7 & Y8). Additionally, Y7 have the opportunity to explore ‘voices of protest’ by understanding and evaluating humanity, respect and acceptance in society – focused on the eclectic experience of the many, to reflect on the self. Within KS4, many students uncover a multitude of reflections and emotional responses through their Literature qualification – especially those linked to the Literary heritage, as a lens to examine society, the human condition and religion.
2) Peace: The concept of peace can be observed in multiple areas of the English curriculum – especially that of our Y9 War Poetry unit. This offers students a real opportunity to understand and reflect on different male and female perspectives, as well as different poetic styles, during both historic and more modern conflicts. A plethora of poems are chosen to extend our understanding and exploration of central themes of conflict, and why peace and harmony can be achieved through unity.
3) The common Good:  The common good forms a solid foundation for all English teaching across the key stages and the curriculum as a whole. Many students develop their own sense of the common good through their exposure to the rights and responsibilities we are given – as well as those witnessed and read in a variety of texts we study. One Y9 text in particular, ‘Noughts and Crosses’, shines a light on the sense of justice within society, whether that be through race, sexuality, identity, and issues moral guidance to the students – reminding them of our collective responsibility to do what is right and just.
4) The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: Students are exposed to a variety of texts and scenarios, centred on the notion of the poor and the opportunities (or lack thereof) given in society. This can be pinpointed most prominently to texts such as Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ and William Blake’s ‘London’ at KS4 – as well as our KS3 transition book, ‘Trash’ which concerns the lives of three poor boys navigating a difficult moral situation, whilst living on a dumpsite. These texts allow students to consider our reactions and perspectives of the poor – offering alternative views and attitudes relating to the most vulnerable in society and how we can offer aid/support.
5) Dignity of Work : This and upholding human participation and fairness is something that lends itself well to the English curriculum. Most notably, Y7 are exposed to the realities of poverty and child slave labour in countries such as Bangladesh and India, through their ‘Voices of Protest’ unit. This allows students to understand the need for comfortable working conditions, fairness and equality in a working environment. Additionally, one of the other modern examples introduced into the Y7 curriculum can be found in the narrative text ‘The Breadwinner’. This text examines the hardship of poverty in a war-torn country, sexism and the difficulty of working conditions for young children attempting to support their family.
6) Solidarity: The permeates every part of the English curriculum, whether that be through a shared experience demonstrated in a Literature text or our reaction/perspective to an unseen Language text which offers an insight into challenging concepts. Often when reading a text, either in KS3, KS4 or KS5, students are offered a window into the lives of others and relate to a shared experience of pain, suffering, joy and jubilation. It is our shared understanding, integrity and personal reflections that allow us to come together.
7) Care for God’s Creation: Human experience concerns itself with the care for God’s creation and there are outstanding examples of this in KS3 and KS4. In Y8, students are able to explore a wide array of unseen poetry, exploring the concept of identity and the natural world. Poet’s such as Wordsworth, Blake and other Romantic poets, allow us to see through a window of creation and deliberately shape our attitude to appreciate and admire the bounteous form of all God’s creation. This can be seen more prominently in KS4, when students analyse and explore the Power & Conflict Poetry Anthology – examining the power and strength of God’s creation in poems regarding the power of nature, such as ‘The Prelude’, ‘London’, ‘Exposure’ and ‘Storm on the Island’.

To increase a student’s understanding of Catholic Social Teaching

The department emphasises  the importance of dialogic talk/discussion-based learning. Most research suggests that students think more critically and evaluatively when having the opportunity to speak openly with peers and as a class. This provides students with a platform to discuss, process, question, and challenge different perspectives and attitudes – bolstering their ability to think more conceptually and evaluatively, which lends itself not only to the exam process at GCSE and A level, but provides students with the skill to think outwardly and conceptually about the world around them. One specific example is our ‘Let’s Think in English’ lessons held in Y7 and Y8. Once a half-term, students in Y7 and Y8 have a dialogic talk lesson where they discuss a deliberately controversial and thought-provoking narrative text and converse about the stimulating concepts expressed. These lessons are about thinking and discussion, therefore students do not write in these lessons and allows them to express themselves and forge an inquisitive and curious line of enquiry, ultimately benefitting their written responses in the long-term by replicating a more advanced way of thinking.