A calm, safe and welcoming place in which to work and learn.
A place where everyone supports each other to achieve.
A place we enjoy coming to each day.

The study of history plays a key role in enabling students to develop a more expansive view of the world, while supporting them to understand developments and interactions within society as well as their role as citizens.

History lessons at C.A.S. allow a space which encourages students to form opinions, develop a point of view and find their voice. They are are inclusive, dynamic and engaging. Students are challenged to think deeply, consider and learn from past events and circumstances.

At C.A.S. we understand, appreciate and celebrate the uniqueness of all our complex pupils. We use a variety of methods to encourage engagement and maximise behaviour for learning. In History lessons these methods may include: role play, handling of real and replica artefacts, examination of historical texts/images, creation of models, use of audio, viewing contemporary films/documentaries, field work in the local area and elsewhere and site and museum visits. Students are enabled to participate in ways which excite, while also acknowledging their learning style and individual needs.

History lessons as C.A.S. encourage students to think for themselves and discover unknown worlds of the past. Our C.A.S. History curriculum is broad, ambitious and aims to teach relevant topics which help pupils to understand the world around them while embedding fundamental British values. Essential literacy, numeracy and IT skills are embedded and used within the C.A.S. History curriculum, which is based on the National Curriculum, modified to allow our pupils appropriate access.

Through the study of past lives and events, including topics linked to our local area,  pupils learn to think about situations they have not personally experienced first-hand and to develop a sense of chronology. This requires increasing levels of understanding and empathy, a real challenge for our diverse cohort, in particular those who have ASD.

Students are taught to compare and contrast a variety of, at times, contradictory sources, before reaching a conclusion. Across all years, pupils learn how to conduct their own research and to share this with their peers in a positive and collaborative manner.

Students at C.A.S. feel safe and valued enough to begin gradually to take part in class discussions and debates, further adding to a core skill set which includes, confidence, decision making, resilience and willingness to adapt to those around them. All these important life-skills are highly transferrable and add significantly to the preparation of C.A.S. pupils for transition to a productive life beyond school, at college and at work.

Pupils work within the History Curriculum is accredited at Entry Level and contributes to their ASDAN awards.