Intent

We have carefully constructed our History Curriculum to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Pupils will develop their knowledge about the history of Britain and how it has influenced and been influenced by the wider world. Pupils will also gain an understanding of significant aspects of history such as: ancient civilisations and empires; changes in living memory and beyond and the lives of significant people from the past. Our History Curriculum draws from and makes full use of the immediate and wider local area, enabling children to develop a deep understanding of the rich history of their locality. Pupils will develop their skills of historical enquiry in order to ask questions, consider evidence and develop effective arguments. Our aim is for pupils to begin to understand the complexity of peoples’ lives; the process of change; the diversity of societies and civilisations and the relationships between different periods of history. We want children to enjoy learning about history by not only gaining knowledge and skills through experiences in the classroom, but also through well planned educational visits to places of historical interest and living history workshops.

Implementation

The History Curriculum is carefully planned from our progression document to ensure that a progressive set of skills are taught throughout the school, aligned closely to the expectations of the National Curriculum. Each topic across the school has been carefully planned to ensure breath and balance of these skills and to develop and extend children’s historical knowledge and understanding. These skills have been broken down into the following key areas: historical interpretation, historical investigation, chronological understanding, and knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past. History is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning. Each topic is introduced with reference to the chronology of previous topics, including those from previous years to support children’s understanding of a historical timeline. By the end of Year 6, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. The History Curriculum is designed to ensure appropriate diversity in the significant figures and themes that children learn about. There are strong links to English through the use of high-quality texts to inspire children’s writing with contextual historical knowledge.

Impact

Pupils will:

• Enjoy their learning in History and high expectations allow for all pupils to achieve their best.

• Develop the ability to think critically and analytically, asking perceptive questions to support their learning.
• Be able to explain different interpretations for historical events and form their own perspective and judgement of these. 
• Gain a deep knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
• Build and develop their historical skills within and across each year.
• Use historical vocabulary relating to the passing of time, key events and significant people accurately.
• 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.
• Use sources and artefacts to learn about life in the past, historical bias and gain an understanding of the role of archaeologists and historians.
• Develop an appreciation of the culture and attitudes of societies other than their own.
• Learn to reflect on their progress towards mastering key skills in History.
• Produce displays which will reflect and celebrate their achievements in History.