History

History Subject Overview

HISTORY

OVERVIEW

We aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about history that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. A high-quality history education will enable pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and of the wider world. This includes an understanding of the development of democracy and British Values with the context of an increasingly diverse Britain.

Learning about key figures in history and understanding their motives and actions enables the children to have a better understanding of the world in which they live.

INTENT

For children to know more, understand more and remember more in history
There will be a clear sequence and progression of historical skills and concepts, which can be transferred across the curriculum
To inspire pupils’ curiosity to discover more about the past and to develop an understanding that enables them to enjoy all that history has to offer
To enable all children develop a sense of the past and to develop a chronological framework for learning about life in past time
To enable children to learn about famous historical figures, their motives and actions and how this continues to impact on our lives
To develop children’s knowledge and understanding of the growth and development of our nation and its relationship with the rest of the world
To enable children to know about significant events in British history and to appreciate how things have changed over time
To know and understand how the British system of democratic government has developed and, in doing so, to contribute to a child’s citizenship education
To understand how Britain is part of a wider European culture by studying some aspects of European history
To have knowledge and understanding of historical development in the wider world
To enable children understand society and their place within it, so that they develop a sense of their cultural heritage
To develop children’s skills as historians, such as enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation, debate, interpretation, problem solving and presentation, to enable them to research and discover the past.

IMPLEMENTATION

Within the EYFS, we use photographs, artefacts, visits out into the locality, and by talking to visitors about ‘then and now’.
Within KS1, they build on their earlier work using ‘living memory’ (Guy Fawkes?), eye-witness accounts’ and the immediate environment of the school as their starting point
Strong links are made with the teaching of English. Stories, plays and poems set in different periods of history are shared with the children
History is a stimulus and a springboard for the development of oracy, writing and for the development of thinking and reasoning skills
Art, design technology, drama are closely linked with history as children use these subjects to communicate what they have learnt
On every appropriate occasion, teachers use first-hand experience, visits, visitors, artefacts, AVA and the local and wider environment to engage children’s interest and imagination
Through their understanding of the past and of lives in different conditions, children are encouraged to develop ‘empathy’ for others
Through their understanding of the past children are helped to develop an understanding of their identity as a British subject
Children learn about development of democracy, our government, the Monarchy, citizenship, and the Law. They learn about rights and responsibilities, moral, social and environmental issues
Each class has a timeline that shows each of the time periods studied throughout school. Timelines are a starting point when learning about a new time period and are referred to throughout History lessons to ensure that children can recap previous history learning and enable children to put new learning into context of chronology
Key subject specific vocabulary are identified and embedded in learning, through Knowledge Organisers, be displayed within the classroom and highlighted to the children at the beginning of lessons and revisited through knowledge quizzes
The use of mind maps at the start and end of a topic will help to assess what knowledge is already known and progress within a unit of learning
Knowledge Organisers to enable children to have access to key knowledge, languages and meanings to understand History and to use these skills across the curriculum
Opportunities for embedding learning is provided by regular revisiting of previous and current learning at the beginning or end of a lesson
Children learn through enquiry and develop their questioning, debating and justifying skills
Teachers provide opportunities for deep understanding and applied learning, ensuring appropriate challenge, development of resilience and deeper learning.

IMPACT

History has a strong presence in the ethos of the school through displays, performances, music, drama and assemblies. Pupils develop an understanding of changes over time in people, places, landscape and culture. They know about different periods in our history, people who brought about change and significant developments that changed Britain and the world. As historians, children learn lessons from history to influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future

We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary which also form part of the units of work.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught
Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning
Images and videos of the children’s practical learning
Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
Subject leader monitoring of standards
Teacher dialogue where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for teachers to understand their class’s work and develop curriculum opportunities further.