History at The Redway School
History helps children and young people to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. To fulfil the duties of the National Curriculum, The Redway School provides a balanced and broadly-based curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils; history learning prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
History is concerned with the past. It is the historian’s view of the past and is a mode of enquiry. History is our chronological record of what happened in the past. It involves the study of men, women and children in different societies, cultures, countries and classes. Pupils can begin to learn and understand something about the past and its influences on life today; they can understand cause and consequence, continuity and change, connections and contrasts.
Our curriculum is split into a pre-formal, semi-formal and formal pathways.
Pre-Formal: The pre-formal pathway aims to stimulate pupils’ awareness and recognition of the present moment and recent past. Pupils start to recall things that have happened in the past. They begin to use their growing memory of the past to affect the present. They recognise important people who have affected their own lives and personal events that happen less frequently. They begin to develop understanding of consequence, experience sensory aspects when learning about history of the British Isles and around the world, and respond with curiosity and engagement to traditional music, art and cuisine from different cultures. Pupils develop their early chronological awareness of now and next. They explore different ways of recording things that have happened.
Semi-Formal: The semi-formal pathway aims to ensure that all pupils develop their understanding of the history of the British Isles. Pupils explore and gain understanding of chronology of narrative, from the earliest times to today. Pupils understand their own personal histories; they gain appreciation of significant aspects of the history of the wider world and are introduced to some abstract terms, historical concepts and methods of historical enquiry. The learning is focused on understanding the world in which they live and how it works as well as learning about parts of the world they are yet to discover.
Formal: The formal pathway supports all pupils to increase their knowledge and understanding of the history of the British Islands. Pupils gain perspective of chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day. Pupils know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world, gain understanding of abstract terms, understand historical concepts and methods of historical enquiry.