History
History at Our School: Intent, Implementation, and Impact
Our Vision for History
Our curriculum ensures that all pupils gain a secure knowledge of British, local, and world history. We want our children to think like historians: critical thinkers who can weigh evidence, sift through arguments, and develop their own perspective.
We build these skills progressively through three key areas:
- Chronology (Time): We move children from understanding their own personal timeline in Key Stage 1 to understanding complex, overlapping eras (BC and AD) and historical trends by Year 6.
- Enquiry (Evidence): We teach children how to find facts. This starts with using photos and artefacts in KS1 and progresses to evaluating bias and the reliability of sources (such as propaganda) in KS2.
- Concepts (Big Ideas): We focus on "Cause and Consequence" (why things happened), "Change" (how life is different), and "Significance" (why events matter).
How We Teach
To ensure knowledge sticks, our teaching is consistent and rigorous.
Structured Lessons Every history lesson follows a proven four-part structure:
- Recall: We start with a quiz to activate prior knowledge and recap previous learning.
- Engagement: We hook the children’s interest with a "big question" and sources like ruins or artefacts.
- Main Event: Children actively investigate evidence to find answers.
- Consolidation: Children prove what they have learned by answering the enquiry question using facts.
Vocabulary Building We use a tiered vocabulary system to ensure children can speak and write like historians.
- Core Concepts: We repeat high-utility words across different years to deepen understanding.
- KS1 examples: Past, Present, Similar, Different.
- KS2 examples: Empire, Invasion, Legacy, Bias, Perspective.
- Topic Words: We explicitly teach words specific to the era, such as "Centurion" or "Appeasement".
What Our Children Achieve
We measure success by how securely our children understand the past and how well they can apply historical skills.
By the end of each stage, our pupils will achieve the following:
- By Year 2: Children can order events on a timeline and explain how life has changed (e.g., how toys have changed due to technology). They can identify similarities and differences between the past and now.
- By Year 4: Children understand "Cause and Consequence"—for example, explaining why the Romans invaded or why the Maya civilization declined. They can accurately use terms like "Empire" and "Legacy".
- By Year 6: Children can analyse complex arguments. They can identify bias in sources, debate historical significance (e.g., was Henry VIII a tyrant?), and compare political systems (e.g., Athenian democracy vs. Spartan oligarchy).
History Gallery
Our Curriculum