Our History Curriculum

Aim

At Front Street Primary School, it is our aim to inspire pupils’ Historical curiosity so that our pupils are actively involved in their learning.

Intent

Our intention is to make real world links and demonstrate how History has impacted upon the lives of our pupils. Our curriculum provides children with a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We want pupils to develop a clear historical perspective so that they can piece together their growing knowledge and fit it into different contexts. Through studying History, here at Front Street, pupils learn to appreciate how people and events in the past have shaped the way that we live now.

Throughout school, our children enjoy history and become confident, skilled historians. Our whole-school curriculum drivers that we promote across all subjects are: ready, relevant, progressive, ambitious, independent, inclusive, resilient.

So…how does this look in history?

Ambitious	Throughout the history curriculum, we encourage children to become aware of how important history skills and knowledge are to the real world. Children become familiar with history careers and aspire to gain skills to support them in possible future roles.
Progressive	History skills are built on year-upon-year. Children make progress in history from their starting point. They are taught to apply skills across all units to ensure they are secondary-ready by then end Year Six.
Independent	Children learn to tackle history independently. They understand that in history, a certain amount of research is necessary to find out answers. Children become independent learners, who are not reliant upon others.
Inclusive	We have high aspirations for all. We believe, achieve and succeed in history. Everyone CAN do history – we do not put a limit on learning. Equity for all is ensured through a carefully crafted and cohesive curriculum.
Relevant	Children learn that history is all around us. In our ever-changing world, we adapt and enrich the curriculum to reflect on real life, our locality and current events.
Resilience	Our children have a growth mindset in history: they believe in their ability to work like a historian and build their historical knowledge. They can and will achieve and succeed in history. They answer historical questions and do not give up- their mindset enables them to persevere.
Ready	All children are taught age-related content. Our history curriculum is coherent and progressive. Children master their own year-group content to be ready for the next phase in their academic career. Our curriculum ensures children are secondary-ready by then end Year Six.

The aims of the History curriculum are to ensure that ALL pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’.
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

It is intended that teachers, at Front Street, are confident in the planning, teaching and assessing of History. Teachers will fully understand the ‘Disciplinary Skills’ and Units which are to be taught within each year group. They will confidently use the National curriculum and the documents within our ‘History Curriculum 2021-2022 Scheme of Work’ to plan engaging and varied History lessons. Teachers will evidence the key objectives covered within each lesson and will reflect upon the children’s learning after each lesson, to inform an ongoing teacher-based assessment. Assessment will then be analysed and interpreted in order to inform future planning and lessons.

Implementation

Teaching of History in the Foundation Stage:

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage, activities and experiences for pupils are based on the seven areas of learning and development.  The seven areas are:

• Personal, social and emotional development (prime area)
• Communication and language (prime area)
• Physical development (prime area).
• Literacy (specific area)
• Maths (specific area)
• Understanding the world (specific area)
• Expressive arts and design (specific area)

Foundation Stage history focuses on developing the pupils understanding of the world, communication and language, personal, social and emotional skills as well as Maths and English. Within our foundation stage the pupils learn through experiences that introduce the concept of time and change. For example, pupils may be asked to bring in photographs of themselves as babies and to discuss how they have changed over time, pupils will also explore patterns and routines as well as talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.

Teaching of History in Key Stage 1:

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented (particularly pictures and objects).

Teaching of History in Key stage 2:

Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources and that some of the sources may be propaganda, opinion and misinformation which can affect interpretations of history.

Impact

Children will develop a clear knowledge of all aspects of the History National Curriculum, they will gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Children will be inspired and curious to know more about the past. Teaching will equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically and develop perspective and judgement. History teaching will ensure that children 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. They will understand the processes that cause change, over time, to physical and human features.

Teachers will assess History throughout each unit of work and will use assessment to inform planning, which is specific the children’s emerging needs in order to ensure all children receive high quality teaching and have the opportunity to embed key historical skills.

Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

At Front Street, we believe that all children should be fully included in all aspects of learning; therefore, our curriculum is fully inclusive and it’s our firm belief that all children can and will succeed in history. History forms part of the school’s curriculum in which we provide a broad and balanced education to all children. As a result, History lessons are delivered in a way to meet the needs of all children, using a combination of teaching methods to ensure that all children are able to access learning and are engaged in the topic.

What this looks like at Front Street:

• Lesson content is delivered in small steps.
• We allow time to revisit, review and retrieve information.
• We use questions carefully and to a wide number of pupils.
• Models, worked examples and scaffolds are used as necessary.
• We support children to make links between new and previously taught knowledge and show where learning fits within the bigger picture.
• We promote the growth mindset model where children are encouraged to keep going even if it is difficult.

If you have any further questions, related to History, here at Front Street, please contact the school office who will be happy to help.

History Documents

History Documents	Download
History National Curriculum	Download
Front Street Primary School’s History Curriculum Overview	Download
Front Street Primary School’s History Summary Policy	Download
Whole school history overview for sept 22	Download

History Policy