Intent

We will offer an ambitious history curriculum which challenges pupils to make connections across time and place.  Our curriculum will set pupils up for a life-long love and understanding of an important subject, while providing knowledge that will make them curious, active citizens of this country and the world.  Pupils are given a solid foundation and broad overview in some of the most important periods, events and themes in British and world history. The curriculum demonstrates the importance of past events in shaping the world of today by bringing pupils up to the present day through topics such as the Middle East and Civil Rights.   History is taught chronologically from the first settlements up to the Industrial Revolution and touching on Britain during the two World Wars.  While studying these periods, pupils will also explore themes of change and continuity, perspective and power. Our world history element of the curriculum provides global coverage, ranging from Ancient Greece, the Shang Dynasty and the Middle East through to the Benin Kingdom. Throughout the curriculum, connections and comparisons will regularly be made between events and individuals.

Implementation

Throughout KS1 and KS2, pupils are taught the substantive content which defines each period.  This knowledge will be regularly revisited and elaborated on.  More abstract concepts will be carefully developed so that pupils gain an increasingly sophisticated understanding of, for example, empire.  However, it is not only substantive knowledge that is taught.  The disciplinary skills of history, such as source analysis, interpretation, perspective, continuity and change will all be explicitly taught and practised.

At the start of each unit, pupils will have an opportunity to show what they already know in an elicitation task. At the beginning of each new history topic, teachers will refer to classroom timelines to develop children’s understanding of chronology.  Each topic is introduced with reference to the chronology of previous topics (including those from previous years).  Consideration is given to how the wide range of abilities will be catered for within each lesson, as well as how learners will be supported as part of the school’s commitment to inclusion.  Cross-curricular links will be woven into a unit, providing pupils with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge in other subjects.  At the end of a unit, pupils will complete an end of unit quiz or task to showcase their understanding.

Impact

The impact of our history curriculum will be that our pupils 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.  They will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives, as well as ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.  They are equipped with historical and analytical skills for life as an adult in the wider world and are ready for the secondary curriculum.