History

Intent

Our history provisions will support our children to develop a thoughtful and coherent understanding of links between themselves and others and an appreciation of how cultures, groups and people have impacted upon one another over time. Our studies will spark curiosity as we support children to recognise what has happened in Britain’s past and that of the wider world to bring us to our current positions. Children will be shown how to think like historians as connections between the past and present are carefully and sensitively untangled.

As the past is explored, they will improve their disciplinary knowledge (the methods that establish the substantive knowledge), asking questions that become more perceptive with age, developing the ability to think critically, to weigh up evidence and to be able to better use both perspective and judgement as they sift through the substantive knowledge (established facts).

 Within their examinations of the past and present, they will be able to see the complexities of human lives, the diversity of peoples, societies and cultures and the relationships between them over time. A sense of chronology is given through which the children can develop their own cultural understanding based upon their historical heritage. We hope that through this, they will learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. Moreover, by considering how others lived in the past, they will be better able to make their own life choices regarding the issues and challenges of current times. Like other subjects, our super learning powers are threaded through our history curriculum in an endeavour to teach our children to be open-minded and enquiring thinkers, who can examine evidence critically, analyse, interpret, evaluate and present their findings.

It is also our aim to extend their knowledge and understanding of key historic events, people, periods and places through engaging and enriching experiences and visits. Through all our teaching, we wish to stimulate the children’s interest in the past and endeavour to bring about a love of the subject. 

Our curriculum aims to provide children with the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to acquire or to become the following:

• An excellent knowledge of people and events from different historical periods, and an understanding of historical concepts and processes
• The ability to communicate differently for a range of audiences, taking consideration that different people in the past had different experiences and views from each other and ourselves e.g., traditions, culture, beliefs, values, and motivations.
• The ability to make interpretations of the past based on different pieces of evidence and sources, to draw inferences, whilst consistently supporting, evaluating, and challenging their own views and those of others.
• The ability to devise and investigate questions about people and events from the past, using evidence to reflect, debate and reach conclusions.
• An interest and passion to study the different ways in which the past has been represented and to understand why people interpret the past in different ways.
• A respect for historical evidence and the ability to explore the many causes that led to events and changes in history, taking consideration of the outcomes which may have been intended or unintended.
• A desire to embrace challenging activities, including opportunities to explore a range of history topics.

Implementation

We will achieve the aims and objectives of our history curriculum by:

• Using an enquiry-based approach to history, allowing children to investigate, analyse and interpret historical events, giving opportunities for children to develop their critical thinking skills and removing the idea that there are right and wrong views of history.
• Providing a learning climate that allows children’s views to evolve as their understanding of history deepens; allowing children to agree and disagree as they put together reasoned views and so removing the stigma of being ‘wrong’.
• Developing an experiential learning environment that is exciting, interesting, and stimulating and includes educational visits and external providers coming into school.
• Encouraging cross-curricular links to help deepen children’s understanding of historical events.
• Planning for progression of skills within a curriculum that meets the needs of our children.  

 

As in all subjects, we recognise that there are widely differing children with regard to ability, levels of English and learning styles. We therefore seek to provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by responding in the following ways:

• Setting common tasks which are open ended and can have a variety of responses.
• Providing scaffolding and prompts where appropriate so that all children can access activities.
• Offering a low threshold / high ceiling approach to allow everyone to take part.
• Encouraging children to work collaboratively in small groups or with partners.
• Offering a range of ways to record work and show understanding and knowledge including role play and oral presentations.
• Small steps with reference to prior learning (recent and past years) will be made within lessons to ensure all make progression.
• Children with SEND will have specific targeted support according to guidance based upon individual need
• Providing supporting materials such as word banks or writing frames as appropriate.
• Using staff to support and extend pupils or groups where appropriate.
• Using a variety of sources for research.   
• Progress will be evaluated through low stakes formative assessment such as multiple-choice tests and end of unit assessment tasks.

 

Emphasis is placed upon the development of historical skills alongside a growing factual knowledge. A variety of teacher approaches allow for this to happen:

• Teacher presentations, role play, drama, storytelling
• Question and answer sessions, discussions and debates
• Individual and collaborative research
• Investigation of artefacts and sources of evidence
• Fieldwork and visits to museums and places of historic interest
• Guest speakers and interaction with those who can give personal recounts of living memory history.   

 

 At the end of each unit, children will undertake a low stakes activity in order to assess their understanding of the content covered. Skills showing their ability to work as a historian will be assessed formatively. Records of teacher assessments for each unit and associated skills will be kept on our electronic tracking system.

 

Where appropriate, throughout all areas of study, we will embed the following core concepts: cause and consequence; time – continuity, change and chronology; historical perspective or similarity and difference; historical significance; and the use of evidence.

 

 Core Concepts within Our History Curriculum

These will be clearly incorporated into lessons throughout all areas of the history curriculum, where and when appropriate.

Cause and Consequence- Important events or changes in history can have many different causes, some of which can be hidden from view. Each cause will play a part, but some causes may be regarded as more important than others.

Time - Continuity, Change, Chronology - Many things from the past are different from today; some things have changed but some are the same. Changes can take place across and within periods of history. Change and continuity can both present at the same time in chronologies of the past. Change can sometimes mean decline as well as progress. We will look at continuity, change and chronology across a variety of timescales.

 Historical Significance- Some people, events or developments in the past seem particularly important. They often lead to big changes in people’s lives including how they think or behave. We will identify some key historical people, developments and events and, using historical sources, we will attempt to establish the impacts that have been felt because of them.  

Historical perspectives / Similarity and Difference - Asking how similar or different times, things or people were allows pupils to draw comparisons across people, their perspectives, motivations and actions, as well as across time and space, helping children to develop a greater understanding of modern global society. These perspectives span the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings in periods of history that shaped people’s lives and actions in the past and allow us to understand the difference between us in the present and those in the past. The children should understand that our knowledge of the past is constructed from a variety of sources and that these will influence what we know because of the viewpoint presented..

Use of evidence- Use of historical evidence is the way historians draw conclusions and answer questions about the past. The source is the information, but it is the historian who uses it as evidence to answer questions. We must be aware of our sources and think about they can sway thinking and belief.

We will make every effort to work as historians in how we think about and interact with the past (and present) to decide upon what is ‘known’; what is ‘truth; what is ‘fact’ and what can be evidenced. Our disciplinary knowledge is the methods we use to establish the substantive facts. 

We provide a developing knowledge of the past including significant individuals, civilisations, and events and how these have influenced the present.

 Substantive knowledge also includes a knowledge or use of historical sources (both primary and secondary) such as artefacts, documents, buildings, art etc. and a growing understanding of aspects or themes within our history.

Within our curriculum these aspects or themes are covered as shown in the history curriculum overview.

 

Planning:

We use the National Curriculum scheme of work as a basis but have adapted it to our local context and the appropriate history skills and relevant vocabulary have been developed by a small working group led by the history lead and deputy head. Our long-term plans have been produced in consultation with staff and map the history topics studied across the year in each year group from Y1 - Y6.  History is taught in Reception as an integral part of the topic work relating to the ELG ‘Understanding the World’. Children begin to develop an understanding of the past and present in their own lives by sharing stories and pictures of their own experiences with one another. 

Each year group will cover three periods of history over the year. These have been chosen to be easily accessible, age appropriate to enable better understanding, to be complementary to other subjects and to build upon one another. We have developed a curriculum that covers British, local and world history that is particularly pertinent to our school, reflecting our local heritage, local historical accomplishments and events and significant local individuals as well as the heritage backgrounds of other children in school.

Class teachers make their own medium-term plans with specific objectives linked to content and skills and expected outcomes. All lessons will include opportunities for revisiting prior learning, building upon skills previously taught and how the skills and knowledge will prepare the children for their future earning journey.  Proformas are provided for this medium- term planning, which is saved electronically half termly. Individual lesson plans are not expected unless deemed necessary by senior staff.  

Impact

Our history curriculum will provide a strong base from which self-identity can be found as the children better understand themselves and others over time, their place in the world and how they connect both now and to the past. It will give firm foundations from which to improve skills of decision making and judgement and, in line with our super learning powers, will provide good models of positive and responsible citizenship.

By studying and understanding change and societal developments in the past the children will become more able to learn from the actions and outcomes of the past and will be given the tools with which to question, understand and react to current local, national and world events. We hope to help shape children who will endeavour top use their voice to make the world a better place.

 

Curriculum Overview

History Curriculum Overview 'Substantive Knowledge' 24-25

History Curriculum Overview 'Content Coverage' 24-25