History

Curriculum Design

Subject Leader: Miss Payne  

‘People without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots’

Curriculum Intent

History is concerned with children creating a sense of identity and relating this to people, events and changes from the past. The curriculum will study people and events which shape the world we live in today. Pupils will study their local area, and contrast this to what it was like in the past. They will consider different periods of time and the impact this has upon modern day. They will use a range of sources to critique the lives of significant events and people from the past. 

At Brookfield Community Primary we aim to motivate and inspire children through a curriculum that stimulates, engages and challenges all learners. Our curriculum will be enquiry based allowing children to build on this skill ensuring they become inquisitive learners who are not afraid to challenge artefacts and sources they encounter in their further study.  Enjoyable and engaging activities are planned to build upon the pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the local area.

Specific vocabulary for each unit is taught and built upon alongside effective questioning to communicate ideas.

Our School Mission Statement of ‘Many hearts make a school’ and our Learning Powers, are at the heart of our curriculum and all that we do at Brookfield Community Primary School.

The National Curriculum of History aims to ensure that all pupils should be taught:

EYFS

In the Foundation Stage the children are provided with a wide range of activities and opportunities as prescribed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum ‘Understanding the World’.

By the end of Early Years, children will have had the opportunity to:

• talk about the past and present events in their lives and families.

• explore the differences and similarities between themselves and others. I.e. their families, communities and traditions.

By the end of Key Stage 1, children will have had the opportunity to study:

• changes within living memory – where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life

• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]

• the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods [for example, Sarah Forbes Bonnetta, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong and Tim Peak, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell]

• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

End of Key Stage 2 children will have had the opportunity to study:

• changes in Britain from Stone Age to the Iron Age

• The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain

• Britain’s settlement by Anglo Saxons and Scots

• the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor

• a local history study

• a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066

• the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer, The Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt, The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China

• Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world

• a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-130

It is essential that a broad range of ways of learning should be involved in understanding of historical knowledge, skills and key concepts. Wherever and whenever possible the children will be given experience in the local and more distant environment. Visitors will be invited into school where appropriate.

Implementation - Teaching and Learning

Teaching, learning and historical enquiry will be planned in line with the curriculum overview. The subject will be taught discretely over three half terms per year.

At the beginning of each unit, children share their prior knowledge, which informs planning and teaching.

A variety of teaching approaches such as whole-class lessons, group, paired and individual work and discussions are experienced by pupil’s during their history lessons in line with our Teaching and Learning Policy.

End of unit assessment tasks are used to demonstrate progress, knowledge and understanding.

We believe visitors and educational visits help to promote learning in all aspects of history and we aim to incorporate it in all areas of the curriculum and create a cultural capital.

INCLUSION

Learning activities and resources will be directed towards the needs of pupils as individuals to enable all learners to progress and demonstrate achievement in line with the end of unit, end of year and end of Key Stage assessment outcomes. Each pupil is encouraged to work at age-related expectations. However, some activities can be ‘open-ended’ to allow for differentiation by outcome, most tasks will be targeted to individual or group requirements.

Special thought will be given to pupils' individual needs through task differentiation and in certain circumstances a Teaching Assistant may be available to provide in-class support. This may include pre-teaching of vocabulary and specific curriculum content at the discretion of the class teacher. Likewise, those working above age-related expectations will use and apply their learning in broader contexts. History is sometimes a ‘visual’ subject, and we use this to the advantage of our pupils, historical texts are differentiated but only where appropriate.

VOCABULARY

As a school, we have a strong emphasis on the value of quality-first teaching in relation to subject specific vocabulary therefore creating a word rich curriculum meaning our children have the vocabulary to express themselves. Pupils will be exposed to a range of specific vocabulary outlined in the ‘unit overviews’ and on individual lesson plans. Children will be able to refer to these through the use of ‘knowledge organisers’ stuck in books.

Impact

Our well-planned History curriculum ensures that children are given essential knowledge and skills. All pupils' learning is progressive, developmental and stimulating. Teaching ensures that children develop learning powers enabling each one to be the best they can be.