History

Intent

Through all years, children will gain a coherent and chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We want our children to become historians by being able to think critically in order to ask perceptive questions, consider different evidence and arguments to develop perspective and judgement. We hope that this will allow them 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. By referring to the knowledge organisers, children will be able to see how they develop these skills on their journey through school.

Implementation

Our History has been designed using the skills and content set out it the 2014 National Curriculum. We have chosen to use the Curriculum Maestro topics to allow children to embed their skills through a cross-curricular approach as a resource. We also use Mr T does History and the Historical Association resources to support teaching and learning. By the end of their primary education, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from Stone Age to present day. They can draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. Interlinked with this, is the need to look at world history such as the ancient civilisations of Greece and Egypt.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) aims for all children in reception to have an Understanding of the World, culture and past and present by the end of the academic year. Teachers create engaging and informative teaching and learning opportunities.

Progression booklets and knowledge organisers have been produced to enable children and staff to plan their curriculum with progression in mind and support learning and questioning. They will be used to recap prior learning, explain the new learning, and give an insight into where this learning will take them periodically.

Impact

In History we create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry-based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on analytical thinking which helps children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We want our children to be curious and ask questions allowing them to learn more about the past. Through this study children become historians by being able to think critically in order to ask perceptive questions, consider different evidence and arguments to develop perspective and judgement.

We measure the impact of our curriculum and the progression of pupils through the following:

• A celebration of learning for each year group, displayed in school, which demonstrates progression across the school.
• Pupils discussion about their learning.
• The use of knowledge organisers.