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The Humanities subjects (RE, Geography and History) have an important place at 天美传媒 Alternative Provision (AP).
Why? Why does it matter? 'Mainstream curriculum' failed our young people so why take them back to 'more of the same'?
First and foremost, as leaders and as educators, we are in the position and have responsibility to actively design our curriculum. We have taken this challenge, and looked at the needs of our pupils, and actively designed a KS3 Humanities curriculum that is relevant, ambitious and opens eyes and minds to the world. That doesn't lower any expectations about the rigour of the discipline and NC requirements, but that IS bespoke. In this blog, I am looking at the role of History curriculum within this Humanities umbrella specifically.
We remain outward facing at 天美传媒, and so to support us in the creation of our curriculum, we reached out to the Cornwall Associate Research School (branch of the EEF) and were supported by the Associate Director of CARS and previous County Advisor for Humanities, Andy Brumby
We develop teacher expertise, and believe a well-planned and resourced curriculum can also support this, so our Humanities teachers come together with our Humanities Trust lead at our Subject Networks half termly and beyond.
Here is a slide from some of our training around our Windrush Unit, that helps pupils learn more about experiences of migration. Given our size of teaching team in AP, we often will have a teacher teaching outside of their subject specialism in History, so our Subject Networks are key in supporting here, as is our shared curriculum.
Our planned Humanities: History curriculum also seeks to connect our pupils with our locality in the South West... and our unit and sequence on 'Who deserves a statue?' serves to engage pupils in becoming critical thinkers and questioners around our colonial past
Again, produced in liaison with Cornwall Associate Research School EEF, pupils consider the issues around the tearing down of the Coulson statue in Bristol, and why a Plymouth football legend, Jack Leslie, only recently gained a statue.
So... returning to the central thread of this article: why 'Humanities' within Alternative Provision?
Though Humanities, we open eyes, hearts and minds to the wider world. We encourage thinking, reasoning and questioning. We help pupils to see the role of 'evidence' and how to look at problems from different viewpoints, whilst being mindful of bias.
For our pupils at 天美传媒, this is equally at the heart of preparing pupils for life in Modern Britain, and a rich part of how, through education, we seek to 'significantly change lives for the better'.
Lucy Holloway
Director of Education
