History

Intent

Our History curriculum is taught through termly topic-based learning from Nursery to Year 6. This engages pupils in our History learning and ensures that they see links between the content, their lives and the wider world. Our curriculum is carefully planned and structured to ensure that there are links between previous learning and current learning.

Through our carefully designed curriculum, we aim to celebrate the History in our local area and inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the Britain’s past and that of the wider world. In particular, we want to draw out links between Britain’s past and the wider world to improve every students’ cultural capital, understanding of the world around them and their own heritage.

Our History curriculum should:

inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.
equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
help pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups.
Develop pupils’ understanding of chronology
help children gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background.
enable pupils to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives.
At times, History learning may be incorporated into other subjects such as English and Art. We also organise trips and visits that are linked to school themes, to engage children in their learning and understanding of the History that they have learnt.

Implementation

Planning is informed by and aligned to the National Curriculum.
History is taught in topics throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning.
The key knowledge and skills that children acquire and develop throughout each block have been mapped to ensure progression between year groups throughout the school.
At the beginning of each new history topic, teachers typically refer to timelines to develop children’s understanding of chronology.
A typical lesson structure has been developed to ensure key knowledge is regularly checked by the teacher to allow for misconceptions to be addressed and for consolidation of key areas to occur.
Cross-curricular links (e.g. with Art) are made, where appropriate, to ensure the children have opportunities to further embed and apply their knowledge and understanding. These are indicated on the school’s progression mapping. The school’s own context is also considered, with opportunities for visits to places of historical interest and learning outside the classroom also identified and embedded in practice.
Knowledge Organisers outline the knowledge and vocabulary expected to be accrued by children by the end of the unit. They also show the previous knowledge/vocabulary that children should have. These are based on assessment documents mapped out by the subject leader which outline the key knowledge for each unit. This ensures that teachers have the pre-requisite subject knowledge to effectively teach this unit. These are placed in books so that they may also be used as a scaffold/prompt for children. In addition, they are made available to parents to support learning at home.
Lessons are planned to promote higher order thinking and effective questioning is a key feature of lessons to prompt children’s recall and to encourage them to reach conclusions of their own.
Teachers cater for the varying needs of all learners, scaffolding activities where necessary and as appropriate, and ensuring an appropriate level of challenge. Outcomes of work are regularly monitored to ensure that they reflect a sound understanding of the key identified knowledge.
We place an emphasis on diversity, that different strands of History are covered (e.g. assemblies on LGBTQ+ history and Black History) ensuring that children are exposed to a range of cultures.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) follows the ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ guidance which aims for all children in reception to have an ‘Understanding of the World; people and communities, the world and technology’ by the end of the academic year.
All Year groups have access to the School’s Library Service which provide us with books each term that link to our topic learning.

Impact

Outcomes in topic books evidence a broad and balanced history curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge.
Regular trips/visits are used to provide further relevant and contextual learning. Pupil voice has demonstrated that pupils gain new knowledge from these as well as finding them engaging.
Emphasis is placed on analytical thinking and questioning and children demonstrate a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world, in addition to being curious to know more about the past. In class, we see pupils asking perceptive questions, thinking critically, considering evidence and developing perspective and judgement.
Assessment of History is recorded on Insight. This allows teachers to consider areas that may need further consolidation.