History

Intent 

Curriculum design, coverage and appropriateness 

Our intent is that our teaching of History will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.  

Our intent for our History approach is:  

• To inspire children’s curiosity about the past and to recognise what we can learn from it today.
• To teach children 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.  
• Achieve their absolute potential by having the highest expectations of their learning.  
• For children to be confident to ask questions, take risks and extend their knowledge. 
• This is enabled by positive relationships and nurture.  

Implementation 

Curriculum delivery 

Teaching (pedagogy) 

Assessment (formative and summative)  

We implement History through:   

• In EYFS, each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults. As children grow older, and as their development allows, it is expected that the balance will gradually shift towards more activities led by adults, to help children prepare for more formal learning, ready for Year 1  

• Using a range of high-quality resources.   
• Using a core text to link knowledge across the curriculum  
• Excellent teacher subject knowledge and high order questioning.
• Providing opportunities for all children to access Greater Depth learning.   
• Bringing the subject alive with practical projects, trips, visits and drama.
• Planning learning to build on knowledge and skills throughout each Key Stage.

The Big Themes

Our learning will reflect these seven historical ’big themes’. These concepts (and key vocabulary associated with each ’big theme’) will be interwoven into our curriculum and lessons. They will enable pupils to develop their historical knowledge and understanding. These ‘big themes’ won’t present together in every unit but will be seen through history lessons to varying degrees as the children progress through the primary curriculum.

Religion— the role of faith and beliefs (gods, goddesses, beliefs, worship, temples, afterlife, priest).

Conflict— how tension and disagreements were formed and their outcomes (power, alliance, military ,      invasion, conquer, war).

 Society— how individuals lived in communities and what their everyday lives were like (settlement,          migration/movement, empire/kingdom, culture, civilisation).

 Leadership— what a leader or leaders ‘looked like’ and the implementation of their rules and laws (monarchy, king/queen, emperor, power/control, democracy, governance, laws/legislation).

 Economy— how a country or place produced goods and how much money it had (trade, resources, rich/poor, peasantry, slavery, poverty, wealth).

 Achievements and legacy— something that has been handed down from one period to another period/ something that remains from an earlier time.

Travel and exploration— exploring ‘unknown’ lands and territories for different purposes, often religion, invasion, economic or migration.

Impact 

Attainment and progress (including national tests and assessments) 

• Using the National Curriculum to provide the structure and skill development plan for the History curriculum being taught.
• They are passionate about History and its significance today. 
• They have an understanding of the world and how different cultures have flourished since the earliest civilisations.
• Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.