History

We believe that pupils deserve a broad and ambitious history curriculum, full of engaging and relevant topics that are designed to inspire historical enquiry beyond the classroom.

"There is no history of mankind, there is only an indefinite number of histories of all kinds of aspects of human life.”

Karl Popper

Pupils will be given the opportunity to explore a range of periods that will help them to build a secure understanding of chronology. Through high quality resources, theme days and historical trips and visits, pupils will be given the opportunity to explore a wide range of historical sources, from which they will learn about the past. Pupils will be supported to question, and to apply critical and analytical thinking skills so that they are increasingly able to compare, contrast and appraise different sources in their journey to understanding how our knowledge of the past is constructed. We are committed as a school to increasing the diversity of our history curriculum in order to reflect our pupil demographic.

Our History Curriculum Implementation

Pupils in EYFS and Key Stage One centre their history learning around key people and events, considering aspects of history within living memory and beginning to look at those which span beyond living memory. They also complete linear studies, for example looking at the development of toys over time. Pupils in Key Stage 2 delve deeper into the past, exploring events from the Stone age right up to World War 2, as well as completing linear studies in both phases. Pupils study Ancient and British history in a carefully sequenced chronology, with the exception of the non-European study, which is considered in Year 6. Where appropriate, the history curriculum is closely aligned with the geography programme of study, utilising time effectively to provide maximum coverage.

Key Skills

Key skills in history are centred around these areas:

  • Chronology: Sequencing events, objects; using chronological vocabulary
  • Characteristic features of the period, person or event studied
  • Change and continuity: similarities and differences between ways of life at different times
  • Cause and consequence: why did things happen and how did these change how people lived?
  • Significance: How did significant people or events change the course of history?
  • Interpretation: How do we find out about the past and how is the past represented
  • Historical enquiry: using sources to find out about the past