Intent
At Claverley CE Primary school we aim to instil a love of history in our pupils. An inspiring and high-quality curriculum will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We encourage children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. Through the teaching of History, we endeavour to teach pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, including those of the present; the process of change; the diversity of societies and beliefs, whilst celebrating these differences.
Implementation
Early Years
In Early years children are preparing for the history curriculum. Their understanding of the past is taught through events, settings and characters encountered in books and through storytelling. They will learn some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their own experiences and what has been read in class
KS1 and KS2
History topics are informed by the national curriculum, our local area and the needs/ interests of our pupils. These are taught half termly on a two-year rolling programme. We take an enquiry-based approach to teaching History whereby each topic is framed upon a key question that guides the teaching. Individual lessons are also focussed on a question that enable children to answer the overall question. For children to engage meaningfully with the past, they need topic knowledge of the period/place/society they are studying. This can be brought alive through stories, drama, artefacts, sources, visitors, and school visits. Our English lessons are linked to the topics as where possible to help immerse the children in the period and make the learning more memorable.
The focus, however, is on the substantive knowledge selected for that topic: key concepts that that reoccur in topics across the key stages, which enable children to gain a good understanding of the past and make links between different periods, and help them learn history in the future more easily. Teachers will have a clear understanding of what substantive knowledge has been learnt before and build on this.
A secure chronological knowledge is also essential for children to navigate the past. Children are encouraged to refer and add to the school timeline in the hall. They are then able to visualise the period they are currently studying in context to their prior knowledge.
At KS2 children need to know the disciplinary knowledge of history: i.e. how historians construct knowledge about the past. Pupils are taught how historians analyse the past using concepts such as causation, change and continuity, similarity and difference and historical significance. They learn how historians use sources of evidence to construct their accounts and arguments about the past.
Impact
Our History curriculum is a rigorous approach to teaching the subject. Our children develop a sound overview of the past and the ability to analyse it with a critical mind. Our class work shows how our enquiry-based approach gives real purpose and focus to each topic; each lesson planned carefully to address our overall question. Our curriculum has been planned carefully to teach the main historical concepts through a range of contexts in a way that creates links between periods and events. Children will be able to make links to previously studied topics and make comparisons. Children will be enthused by their History topics, through our cross-curricular approach and enrichment activities which immerses them in the period; creating intrigue and enjoyment. Our assessments and monitoring allow us to see the impact of our teaching, guide future planning and ensure that our standards of teaching are high.
KS1 History Rolling Programme
KS2 History Rolling Programme
HISTORY KEY QUESTIONS 2022- 2024 – Green
HISTORY KEY QUESTIONS 2022-2024 Yellow
HISTORY KEY QUESTIONS 2022- 2024 – Red
HISTORY KEY QUESTIONS 2022- 2024 – Blue
Historical concepts final table
Progression in History at Claverley