History

Why is History important in our school?

Teaching history to children has significant benefits. Studying history is important because it helps us to make more 
sense of the current world; it allows us to understand our past which in turn allows us to understand our present. History provides us a context from which to understand ourselves and others, providing us with an identity. History shows us models of good and responsible citizenship and teaches us how to learn from the mistakes of others. History helps us understand change and societal development. Studying history can provide us with insight into our cultures of origin as well as cultures with which we might be less familiar, thereby increasing cross-cultural awareness and understanding.

In studying history, important life skills are learned. Pupils use their memory, imagination, reasoning power, and judgment in collecting, examining, and correlating facts, in drawing conclusions, weighing evidence, and in forming general opinions. Most importantly history is a subject which sparks children’s natural curiosity and their desire for learning about the past. 

What are the aims of teaching History? 

We aim for all pupils to:
•    Know and understand the history of the UK as a chronological narrative
•    Know how people’s lives have shaped the UK and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
•    Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world, e.g. ancient civilisations and empires from around the world
•    Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance
•    Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used to make historical claims, and understand how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.  

How History is taught in our school.

History will be taught in alternate half terms, allowing for three topics per year group per year. 

History will be taught as a discrete subject in weekly lessons throughout a half term. Alongside this, opportunities will be taken for cross-curricular links to be made in other subject areas. As an example, children may use historical enquiry skills to discover the uses of canopic jars in an Ancient Egypt topic lesson; they may then design and make their own canopic jar in an Art lesson, developing the knowledge that they have learned in history. 

When possible, the learning in history will be enhanced by enrichment activities such as trips to museums, art galleries or sites of historical interest or from visits to the school from commercial educational enterprises such as Viking School Visits or personal contacts such as a grandparent who worked in cotton mill.   

How do we ensure quality teaching and learning?

The curriculum for History has been designed with careful thought to the children of our community. We want our children to be engaged in a knowledge rich curriculum as a context in which to learn and develop historical skills, which would be transferable when studying any period of history:

•    Historical Interpretations
•    Historical Investigations
•    Chronological Understanding
•    Knowledge and Understanding of Events, People and Changes in the Past
•    Presenting, Organising and Communicating

In EYFS, our youngest children will begin to learn chronology by appreciating the passing of time. In the strand of Understanding the World, topics are planned which allow children to make sense of past times by comparing objects and people from past times with present day. Learning is child led, and the planned learning opportunities often change depending on the children’s own interests and questions.  

In KS1, topics are planned in sequence so that children become familiar with the concept of passing time, with the youngest children focusing on a time within their memory and their families’ memories.  Further topics are planned to enable children to explore chronology. 

In KS2, the concept of chronology is further explored through a wider range of topics from different time periods from ancient to modern, and with different cultures so that children are able to make sense of how world civilisations developed.

For each topic, objectives are set, which allow for clear progression of knowledge and skills, by giving opportunities to recap and build on prior learning. Teachers are given the flexibility to plan their own activities to fulfil these objectives as they best know the learning needs of the children in their class. Children will revisit their learning frequently by completing memory grids, which aim to reinforce learning.

What will children get from the teaching of History? 

Children will appreciate their place in the human story by acquiring a sense of their own identity and their cultural heritage. They will develop a fascination of the past by learning about the struggles, sacrifices and achievements of significant people, and their own ancestors. In studying a range of different time periods and cultures, children will have a greater understanding of the passing of time and the chronology of eras.

What we teach across the school in this subject: