“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
David McCullough
Curriculum Intent
Studying History awakens children’s curiosity about how the past influences the present. Finding out about past societies allows children to consider how beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions, and how it affects modern day. By putting it in context, pupils are then able to develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. Through research, pupils are encouraged to find evidence and reach their own conclusions through engaging in active discussions with their peers. At Bladon Primary School, our intent is to stimulate the children’s curiosity, so they are able to develop their knowledge and understanding, and use such skills in the wider world. Through enrichment opportunities, our aim is to inspire children to want to more about the past, both in Britain and the wider world. Our history curriculum is designed to ensure children gain such knowledge, develop perspective and think critically.
Implementation
History is taught within each phase following a two-year rolling programme. We adopt a broad and inspiring topic-based approach in order to deliver the content, and endeavour to make cross curricular links to put the pupil’s learning into context. Medium Term plans ensure lessons cover both the required knowledge and subject specific skills, and the progression of skills are developed through the year groups as well as key historical enquiry. Alongside historical knowledge there is focus on the development of analytical skills, a deeper understanding of chronology, critical thinking and developing informed judgements. We maintain a strong emphasis on developing other skills such as chronology and historical enquiry.
Each lesson is planned to not only inspire children but challenge them in their understanding of key historical events. Educational visits and visitors enhance our children’s learning by bringing the past to life and allowing them to gain first hand experiences in order to support their learning. All our enrichment opportunities enable pupils to begin to articulate their own viewpoints and perspectives of the world.
Impact
Underpinning all our history planning is the desire that pupils enjoy learning about the past. When they are fully engaged, pupils are able to make sense of the world around them. We secure pupil’s knowledge by using appropriately challenging vocabulary in lessons, explicitly teaching abstract concepts, and using varied assessment techniques to gauge a pupil’s understanding. Regularly revisiting and reassessing a pupil’s understanding allows us to understand how secure they are in their historical knowledge. The use of questioning is an ongoing formative assessment we use to measure a pupil’s ability to explain the concept in more depth and through assessment quizzes we can measure their attainment and progress. We are always looking to improve our learning environment and so a whole school Timeline will enable Historical enquiry to be more consistent and accessed by all learners.