History

The Curriculum Gift that we give to our children...

To develop a sense of historical order and ‘scale’ and to practice the skills of questioning, enquiry, evaluation and interpretation. To understand our past, learn from our mistakes and successes to make a positive impact on our future.

More Information about History

Intent

Within the Federation, our History curriculum engages and excites children’s curiosity and supports the development of key historical knowledge, skills and concepts through the study of British and local history and other significant time periods and societies. In understanding periods, events and people from the past, our children will gain cultural capital and have a greater appreciation of today’s world and their place within it. History on a world scale as well as on a personal scale will build awareness of children’s own heritage and enable them to be aspirational about the role they can play in the future. History within the Federation is ambitious and motivating. Ambitious in our coverage of History and sequential teaching of core skills and concepts; motivating through exciting learning, trips and visitors that give all children an opportunity to explore and question the past.

We intend that our children will:

Possess a secure understanding of the chronology of significant time periods and societies, in Britain and beyond.
Think critically and analytically.
Discover connections between the History they learn and the wider community today, helping them to appreciate diversity in the modern world and their place within it.
Further their knowledge of continuity and change over time.
Differentiate between source types and explain how and why interpretations in History may differ.
Recognise similarities and differences within and across historical time periods.
Conduct enquiries into historical themes and questions and form their own opinions and interpretation of the past based on evidence.

The identity and characteristics of each school are very important to us. As such, the curriculum drivers for each school add a bespoke element to the Cornerstones scheme , further enhancing and personalising the curriculum.

Implementation

The curriculum is led and overseen by the History curriculum leader, who will regularly monitor, evaluate and review History teaching and learning, celebrating and sharing good practice. As with all subjects, the leader facilitates an in-depth subject inquiry with pupils, parents and staff. The outcome report can be found at the bottom of this page. Formative assessments will be integrated into every day History teaching to ensure teachers have an in depth knowledge of the children’s learning and inform their next steps. Low stakes testing of History will also inform termly assessments and allow for long term memory development and secure understanding of skills.

The National Curriculum 2014 and the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework 2017 provide the basis for our History curriculum, which is then tailored to meet the learning and developmental needs of the children in our school. 

Teachers will plan History using the newly developed progression of knowledge and skills documents which will allow children to build upon prior knowledge and understanding. All schools within the Federation use the Cornerstones Curriculum to ensure that planning both in terms of sequencing and progression in History is appropriately challenging and robust.

The history projects are well sequenced to provide a coherent subject scheme that develops children’s historical knowledge, skills and subject disciplines. Key aspects and concepts, such as chronology, cause and effect, similarity and difference, significance and hierarchy, are revisited throughout all projects and are developed over time. All projects also develop historical skills based on evidence and historical enquiry. The choice of historical periods follows the guidance set out in the national curriculum, with specific details relating to significant events and individuals chosen to present a rich and diverse account of British and world history. Where there are opportunities for making meaningful connections with other projects, history projects are sequenced accordingly. For example, the project Dynamic Dynasties is taught alongside the art and design project Taotie to give children a better all-round understanding of ancient Chinese arts and culture. All history projects are taught in the autumn and summer terms, with opportunities for schools to revisit historical concepts in some of the spring term geography projects.

What will pupils know?

Our curriculum intent; what children in all ages across school will know is guided by the National Curriculum. Going further, knowledge and skills are sequenced and linked with other areas of learning to provide children with what we believe to be a spectacular science curriculum. Our progression documents can be found below. Our 'Big Ideas' across the curriculum are lenses in which we see and study each National Curriculum subject . Within each subject, each Big Idea is mapped to a more precise aspect. These aspects provide the necessary disciplinary knowledge for each subject. By organising learning in this way we are able to plan for deeper learning within each subject discipline whilst linking all learning in school to broader categories or Big Ideas. This also enables knowledge, skills and concepts to be constantly revisited, helping children to know more and remember more.

By the end of Y6 we want children to know about:

Key Stage 1

In Year 1, children begin the autumn term by studying the project Childhood. This project builds on children’s past experiences, including their family history and events within living memory, and works well as an introductory project. In the summer term, children study the project School Days. This project enables children to learn the history of their school and compare schooling in the Victorian period.

In the autumn term of Year 2, children extend their studies to explore a broader range of periods in the project Movers and Shakers. This project explores the concept of significance and the significant people that have greatly influenced history. In the summer term, children study the project Magnificent Monarchs. This project introduces children to the challenging concepts of power and monarchy in preparation for more complex historical topics in Key Stage 2. The projects studied in Key Stage 1 provide numerous opportunities for children to explore significant historical events, people and places in their locality.

Lower Key Stage 2

In Year 3, children begin the autumn term by studying the chronology of British history in the project Through the Ages. This project teaches children about the significance of prehistoric periods and the changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. In the summer term, children continue to develop their knowledge of the chronology of British history in the project Emperors and Empires. This project teaches children about the Roman Empire, its invasion of Britain and Britain’s ensuing Romanisation. In the autumn term of Year 4, children resume their learning about British history in the project Invasion. This project teaches children about the Roman withdrawal and the invasion and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. This project concludes at 1066, which meets the guidance from the national curriculum for British history. In the summer term of Year 4, children begin their studies of ancient history by studying the overview project Ancient Civilisations. This project enables children to learn about the achievements of the earliest civilisations, including ancient Sumer, the Indus Valley civilisation and ancient Egypt.

Upper Key Stage 2

In the autumn term of Year 5, children continue to build their knowledge of ancient civilisations with an in-depth analysis of ancient China in the project Dynamic Dynasties. This project enables children to study the significance and influence of ancient China and its prowess and advancements in the written word, technology and metalwork. In the summer term, children further study ancient and world history in the project Groundbreaking Greeks. This project enables children to explore life in ancient Greece, including examining the achievements and influence of ancient Greece on the western world.

In the autumn term of Year 6, children study the more complex historical issues of enslavement, colonialism and power in the project Maafa. In this project, children explore a range of African kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Benin, and study Britain’s role in the development, perpetuation and abolition of the slave trade. In the summer term of Year 6, children complete their historical studies with the project Britain at War. This project enables children to study the role war has played in Britain’s history since 1066, focusing on the First and Second World Wars as crucial turning points in British history. Throughout the history scheme, there is complete coverage of all national curriculum programmes of study. CurriculumPRO allows you to interrogate the sequencing of curriculum aspects and concepts, vocabulary and connectivity of the history scheme with other curriculum subjects.

Impact 

Children are engaged, curious and resilient in History lessons and relish the challenge and opportunities for fun that the subject offers.
Children are critical and analytical in their thinking, making informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past.
Children are aware of how historical events have shaped the world today, including History at the local and personal level.
Children develop enquiry skills to pursue and investigate their own interests within a topic.
Children visit historically relevant sites and museums and learn from visitors to enhance their learning in History and create positive memories.
Children retain learning and explicitly make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning.
Children are able to articulate what they have learned in History and can describe significant periods, events and people from the past.
Children remember more, know more and can do more.

Would you like to know more about History within the Federation?

If you would like to see the topics we cover in History please visit class pages. For History topics together with the vocabulary that we cover, you may find the below documents useful;

You can find out more about the specific way provision in Foundation Stage 2 links into the subject by reading about objectives that children access in History within the Foundation Stage.

You may also wish to find out more about how children make progress across the school by reading our History Progression Grid which explains the knowledge and skills we expect a typical child to demonstrate at the end of each year.

Click here to return to the Curriculum page.