Halaqah

The Halaqah Curriculum is derived from our Principle of Halaqah. At its heart, is the intention to develop and nurture our children to be thinking reflective committed Muslims who consciously choose to embrace the Islamic way of life and embody ‘Shakhsiyah Islamiyah’. The Halaqah incorporates elements of Citizenship, PSHE, History and Religious Education. All children take part in Halaqah daily; the sessions are child-centred and sometimes child-led. Halaqah is designed to enable children to learn about Islam in the context of living as Muslims in British society, contributing positively to society and facing the challenges of the contemporary world. The traditional Islamic practice of Halaqah is oral, reflective, dialogic and transformative.

Islam

Children learn about Aqeedah, Qur’an and Sunnah, Seerah, Ibadah, Ahkaam Shariah, Seeking Knowledge, Hifdh, Adaab and Akhlaaq, Taadib un Nafs and Tazkiyat ul Qalb.

History

• Through Halaqah, children experience a rich tapestry of Islamic, local, British and global History in line with the themes outlined in our holistic curriculum; This is taught within an enquiry based, collaborative, learning environment that encourages pupils to become resourceful in their approach, to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement.

• Children develop an understanding of key historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance and use these in their own personal historical enquiries.

• Children develop historical skills such as how to frame a historical question, how to justify a historical claim, bias in historical sources and other forms of evidence and how sources and other forms of evidence are used by historians.

• Children are provided with opportunities to deal with a range of stimulating resources including visitors to the school, visits to local and national museums and public institutions, as well as written and oral sources, including an increasing number found on the internet.

Religious Education

• Religious Education is not taught as a separate subject in its own right. Rather Religious Education (relating to religions other than Islam) can be found in the Tarbiyah: Contextualising Islam section of the Halaqah Curriculum which includes a section on ‘Other Religions, Beliefs and Cultures’.

• Children are introduced to other religions through various free flow activities in the Early Years

• The Abrahamic faiths are taught simultaneously to the Qur’anic Narrative about Prophet’s Musa and ‘Isa (alayhi salatu wasalam). In this way children appreciate the closeness of the belief systems as well as the substantial differences between the three faiths.

• Children are also introduced to the idea of people of no faith and understand that some people deny the existence of God.

• Children are encouraged to explore the common values between people of all faiths and none.

Personal Social Health and Economic Education

• PSHE is not taught as a separate subject in its own right. Rather strands of PSHE education can be identified in the T’alim: Developing the ‘Aqliyah and Taadib: Disciplining the Nafs and Inspiring the Qalb section of the Halaqah.

• Halaqah is a core aspect of children’s personal and social development in the Early Years; this is supplemented by teacher observation and interaction through free flow activities.

• Halaqah does much more that traditional PSHE as it is foundationally about developing Shakhsiyah (character

• Through Halaqah, children learn about themselves, their relationships with family, friends and communities, their physical health and their emotional development. Children also learn about money, trade, consumerism, marketing and advertising.

• Through Halaqah, learn how to assess risk and keep safe, at home, in school, on the road, and on the internet.

Citizenship (including British Values)

• As with PSHE, Citizenship and ‘British Values’ are not taught as a separate subject in Halaqah or as a standalone section. Rather they can be found in the Tarbiyah: Contextualising Islam section of the Halaqah Curriculum which covers, Muslims in Britain, Other Religions, Beliefs and Cultures and History.

• Since 2014 Schools in England are required to ‘actively promote’ fundamental British values. Shakhsiyah schools perceive British values as overlapping with Islamic values. We therefore meet the requirement to promote them in a number of ways including through Halaqah.

• Citizenship: Children learn about their heritage and roles as members of their local communities, British citizens, European citizens, members of the Muslim Ummah and of humanity at large. Children participate in community events and contribute to the life of their local community. Children learn about and visit important local and national public institutions such as their local library and Parliament. They engage with visitors from a range of organisations and institutions such as Policemen, Firemen and local Councillors.

• Individual Liberty: Children learn about the importance of understanding their own capacity to be free agents, exercising freewill and the responsibility and accountability that goes with this. They learn about the importance of recognising and respecting the liberty of others to make individual choices. Children learn about the importance of freedom of speech and how to respectfully disagree with others.

• Mutual Respect of Others: Children learn that all human beings are worthy of respect and that respect is essential in the character and behaviour of a Muslim. They explore difficult issues such as how to respect someone you don’t agree with or someone who is disrespecting you. Children learn that they should never discriminate against anyone or treat anyone with disrespect for any reason. They learn that they should insist others treat them with respect and be confident in themselves.

• Other Faiths and Beliefs: Children learn specifically about other faiths and beliefs in specific themes. Children are taught about the importance of respecting other faiths, beliefs and cultures and living in harmony with all. For details please see above under Religious education. Children visit various places and institutions including places of worship and engage with visitors from other faiths, beliefs and cultures.

• The Rule of Law: Children learn about why it is important to have rules and laws. They understand that rules and laws should apply equally and justly to everyone. They understand that different rules and laws apply in different circumstances, for example at home, in school, at a football match. They learn about the rules and laws that Muslims follow. They also learn that all people living in Britain are subject to British law and Muslims in Britain abide by British law.

• Democracy: Children learn about the principles of a democratic society and about British democracy and institutions of government. They learn about democratic principles such as people electing their rulers and holding them to account. They learn about how democratic principles are shared by Muslims and how the historical interaction between Muslims and Europe included discussions about the ideas of democracy and government. They learn about the importance of participating in the political process and the different ways they can do so.