History

In History, we embed the themes of Cultural Development, Technology and Science, Religion, Co-operation and Conflict, and Individuals in History in each unit of learning. This enables the children to gain an understanding of progress and change over time and to be able to talk confidently about chronology as they make comparisons between eras. Recognition of the same themes from different times and places further prompts and gives them the tools to be able to continuously revisit previous learning.

Our History curriculum aims to equip our children with both a breadth and depth of knowledge and the skills required to be a successful historian. Building on work in Reception, Key Stage 1 learning develops their understanding of history as the study of peoples and cultures of the past. We do this by introducing them to units such as The Great Fire of London, Monarchs and key individuals. Throughout they are encouraged to use key historical vocabulary and ask historical questions. During Key Stage 2, we build on their chronological knowledge through a range of teaching: prehistory, ancient history and modern history. These themes are taught around a historical enquiry style question with the lessons leading the children to a better understanding of how to answer this. Primary and secondary sources are paramount to the teaching and the children are expected to approach these with questions and consideration.

We want our children to become increasingly fluent with the fundamental skills as a historian as they progress through the school. These include identifying the five Cs of historical events: Cause, Consequence, Change/Continuity, Connection and Comparison. The final progression into Year 5/6 is to apply these skills to more extensive pieces of historical writing which focus on answering a historical question, using primary and secondary sources to support their answer, making links to our key historical themes and comparing different viewpoints. Within our themes, we ensure that children are exposed to people or key individuals that have been overshadowed by history and aim to break down the stereotypes surrounding periods in history. Finally, our curriculum endeavours to teach children to respect the past so they can develop into just and open-minded historians.