History

History

INTENT

Our history curriculum aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence.

Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time. History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying history allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.

Our scheme of work for history is based on Kapow Primary’s History scheme which aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically secure knowledge of history. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries. In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in history, our scheme aims to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.

The aims of our history scheme of work are aligned with those of the National Curriculum and the scheme enables pupils to meet the National Curriculum attainment targets for the end of each Key Stage 1 and 2.

For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards Understanding the World Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further history learning at Key stage 1.

IMPLEMENTATION

In order to meet the aims of the National curriculum for history and in response to the Ofsted Research Review into history, our scheme of work identifies the following key strands:

Substantive knowledge strands:

• Topic knowledge
• Chronological awareness
• Substantive concepts

and Disciplinary strands:

• Historical enquiry
• Disciplinary concepts

Our scheme emphasises the importance of historical knowledge being shaped by disciplinary approaches. These strands are interwoven through all our history units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow the children to investigate history as historians do. Each six-lesson unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place in time of the period they are studying and make comparisons in other parts of the world.

EYFS

Children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how individual lives fit into broader historical narratives.

There are two EYFS units focused on each of the history-related Development Matters statements. These units consist of a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activities which can be selected by the teacher to fit in with Reception class themes or topics.