History

History

History

History Purpose of Study

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

- National Curriculum, 2014

Intent

At Countess Gytha Primary School we aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum by providing a broad, balanced and exciting history curriculum which is inclusive to all children and enables children to interact and experience history.

We aim to inspire the children and develop their interest and enthusiasm for the subject though learning about a range of different historical events, periods and changes and understanding how to discover as much as we can about the past. Through this understanding, the children can develop their sense of chronology and how the past has shaped the world we live in today.

We aim for the children to enjoy history both in and out of the classroom; whether this is in the school grounds, through visits from relevant historical persons or through educational trips.

Ultimately, at Countess Gytha we aim to provide high quality teaching to develop key characteristic for becoming an excellent historian. These characteristics include:

A sound knowledge of significant historical events and people from across the world.
Being able to understand clear sequences and narrative of different periods in history.
An excellent range of historical vocabulary.
Excellent historical fluency and the ability to apply relevant questioning skills.
To be able to reach conclusions and prove and explain their findings.
Good critical thinking skills.
The ability to compare and contrast different periods of history and significant people.
To be able to form sound opinions based on research and investigation.
To develop a curiosity and enthusiasm for history and how history has shaped our past, present and future.
To understand different historical sources and fact bases and use this knowledge appropriately.
To understand how history has shaped our own modern era and identity.

Implementation

We firmly believe that at Countess Gytha Primary School, our history curriculum is designed to develop the concepts of chronology, sequencing and knowledge and develop the specific skills needed to understand about the past in a progressive manner. As a result, children develop a love and excitement for history throughout their time at Countess Gytha Primary School. We aim to enhance the children’s knowledge and understanding, enabling them to take these skills into further education and their life beyond school.

History at Countess Gytha is taught in half termly or termly blocks and is either incorporated into topic work. It is primarily taught in specific history lessons but can also be used in English work, especially when looking at specific texts or discussions surrounding people and events. This helps to develop a deeper knowledge for the historical subject.

Each year group outlines their history coverage in their long-term yearly plan, going into further detail in medium term and daily plans. Teachers use the objectives of the National Curriculum to plan interesting history topics and plan together to ensure coverage is met across the key stages and year groups. Split year group class teachers work closely to ensure that coverage is spread accordingly across their split year classes and to ensure all children have access to the whole history curriculum. Rolling programs have been planned to meet the needs of all children in the history curriculum.

Teachers use a whole school history progression document to support their planning and to ensure that key knowledge and skills are taught in line with the National Curriculum.

To develop historical language, teachers model the language needed in each lesson and clarify meaning if any child is unsure. Key vocabulary is available for the children to use around the classroom in the form of word mats, displays and topic boards as well as used in history-based displays showcasing the children’s work and understanding.

Impact

As children progress though the school, they develop a deep knowledge and understanding of history as well as an informed appreciation of the subject.

The whole school celebrates and commemorates specific historical dates and anniversaries. for example Armistice Day, which the school links with our high number of children from a forces background, making this an important part of history to implement in our school and allows the children to share their thoughts and experiences.

Regular book monitoring and lesson observations will enable teacher to discuss and ensure that standards are high, and that the implementation of history is having a good impact on the children’s learning.

Key Concepts and Knowledge

Within history, the children focus on 'golden threads' of learning to develop and deepen a coherent understanding of key concepts, and their relevance to periods of history.

Starting from EYFS, children develop their history knowledge through enquiry based questions that allow them to make links to previous learning; enquiry based questions ensure that children of all abilities are sufficiently challenged through high expectations.

Golden Threads (Substantive Concepts)