History
Our history curriculum has been designed to celebrate the cultural diversity and identities of our pupils whilst also ensuring their understanding of history - both in Britain and around the world - is well developed.
Topics and lessons are designed to allow pupils to access and come to understand history through hands-on, practical experiences. They use primary and secondary sources to develop their knowledge and skills and trips and visits to see and experience these themselves.
Our school focus on Oracy allows children to put their understanding of history into practice through a range of activities, including: role paying historical events, exploring and discussing different sources of evidence, identifying what they tell us about an event; and participating in historical events, with children taking on different perspectives from history.
School-wide theme days provide exciting opportunities for pupils to delve deeper into topics and bring them to life. A clear progression of skills ensures their learning develops breadth and depth each year.
Our school-wide focus on subject-specific vocabulary runs through this subject and builds upon vocabulary taught across the curriculum.
Curriculum Documents
Whole School History Curriculum Map
Progression of History Skills:
Knowledge Organisers
Knowledge organisers capture the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils will be taught in each unit of learning. They are used by class teachers and pupils in various ways to help pupils remember key information. Parents and carers can support pupils at home by discussing what they've been learning in history, using the knowledge organiser to guide discussions.
Assessment
History assessment takes place throughout each lesson and at the end of each unit to check that children are developing secure historical knowledge. At the start of lessons, Flashback 4 activities are used to revisit learning from the current unit and previous topics. Key vocabulary is also explicitly taught and revisited to strengthen understanding and retention.
At the end of each unit, children complete a Knowledge Net based on the key knowledge and vocabulary from the unit. This provides an opportunity for pupils to demonstrate what they have understood and remembered. Teachers use these assessments, alongside their professional judgement and evidence from lessons, to identify misconceptions and gaps. These are then revisited through future teaching and retrieval activities.
