The study of history concerns events, actions and peoples of past societies and developing an understanding of the relationship between these aspects of the past and children’s lives today.
As a result of our history curriculum, learners will gain knowledge of a variety of times, including ancient, modern, recent and living history. They will know about significant events in specific periods and places. Learners will develop an understanding of world history and the interconnectedness of the past. They will develop an understanding of and empathy for people of the past through engaging with different perspectives and points of view accessed through a variety of sources.
Children are given opportunities to develop key skills of critical analysis, including identifying bias within a broad range of primary and secondary sources as these are essential to becoming a historian.
As learners move from KS1 through KS2, the increasing depth of knowledge is gained through opportunities to develop their understanding about the causes, actions and outcomes of events and situations that relate to the knowledge being studied.
Teaching and learning in history is enriched by our focus on international learning. We draw on a broad range of historical sources, stimuli and resources to promote engagement with home and host countries’ traditions and cultures.
Our history curriculum is also enriched by a range of trips and visits. School trips and visits allow pupils to encounter experiences that are unavailable in the classroom. They can help pupils to develop their historical understanding within a growing awareness and knowledge of the past.
Our aspiration is that children are inspired to be curious about a range of historical people, events and time periods in order to develop their knowledge of the past both in and out of school.
To be successful, learners must:
- Develop their knowledge of a range of different historical figures, events and time periods
- Use a range of historical sources to find out information about the past
- Identify similarities and differences between their lives and those of people in the past
- Develop their sense of chronology and understanding of the past
- Communicate their understanding and interpretation of the past using appropriate vocabulary and subject-specific terminology
- Connect learning within different aspects of history and between history and other subjects (e.g. international learning and geography)
Implementation
EYFS Understanding the World
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.
Toddlers and young children will be learning to:
- Make connections between the features of their family and other families
- Notice differences between people
3 and 4-year-olds will be learning to:
- Begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history
Children in reception will be learning to:
- Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.
- Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past