Sherwood Park Primary School

‘Every child has an enquiring mind about the world and their place in it.'

At Sherwood Park we believe that history education should be fully inclusive and maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. Our aim is to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about history through a broad and balanced curriculum; ensuring the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skills; and for the children to develop a love for history which will help them have a better understanding of the world in which they live, along with a sense of identity based on local history and cultural heritage.

Intent

At our school, we want all children to develop a secure understanding of the past and how it has shaped the world in which we live. Through the Kapow Primary History curriculum, children develop a strong sense of chronology and build a progressively deeper understanding of significant people, events, periods and civilisations.

Our History curriculum aims to develop children who are curious about the past and confident in asking and answering historical questions. Children are taught to understand that history is constructed from evidence and that interpretations of the past can differ. They develop the skills needed to investigate sources, identify similarities and differences, recognise change and continuity, and understand cause and consequence.

From the Early Years Foundation Stage onwards, children are supported to develop an understanding of the world around them and their own past and experiences. This provides the foundations for the chronological and historical understanding developed throughout Key Stages 1 and 2.

As children progress through the school, they revisit and build upon previously taught knowledge, developing an increasingly secure chronological framework. They encounter a broad range of historical periods, including local, British and world history, enabling them to make meaningful connections between different societies and periods of time.

We aim for pupils to:

• Develop a secure chronological understanding of the past.
• Gain a rich body of substantive historical knowledge.
• Understand significant people, events, places and civilisations.
• Develop historical enquiry and disciplinary skills.
• Use historical vocabulary accurately and confidently.
• Analyse and interpret a range of historical sources.
• Understand concepts such as change and continuity, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and significance.
• Recognise that historical accounts and interpretations may differ.
• Develop curiosity and a willingness to ask questions about the past.
• Make connections between local, British and wider world history.
• Understand how the past influences the present.
• Communicate historical knowledge and ideas clearly, using evidence to support their thinking.

Implementation

History is taught through the Kapow Primary History curriculum, which provides a structured progression of knowledge and historical skills from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 2.

The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children's knowledge and understanding develops progressively. Previously taught concepts, vocabulary and knowledge are revisited and extended, allowing pupils to make connections and retain important historical understanding.

In the EYFS, History is introduced through the Understanding the World area of learning. Children explore the concept of past and present through their own experiences, families, familiar people, objects, celebrations and events. They begin to use language associated with time and develop an awareness that things change over time.

In Key Stage 1, children develop a stronger understanding of chronology and begin to study significant people, events and places from the past. They learn about changes within living memory and beyond living memory and develop an understanding of significant historical events, people and places. Children begin to use simple sources of evidence and ask and answer historical questions.

In Key Stage 2, pupils develop a broader and deeper chronological understanding of British and world history. They study significant periods and civilisations and increasingly make connections between different historical contexts. Pupils develop their ability to investigate historical sources, identify evidence, explain cause and consequence, recognise change and continuity, and consider different historical interpretations.

Lessons provide opportunities for pupils to:

• Retrieve and revisit previously learned knowledge.
• Develop new substantive historical knowledge.
• Learn and apply historical vocabulary.
• Ask and answer historical questions.
• Investigate primary and secondary sources.
• Handle and interpret evidence.
• Develop chronological understanding.
• Compare different periods, people and civilisations.
• Identify change and continuity.
• Explore cause and consequence.
• Consider historical significance.
• Understand that interpretations of history can differ.
• Communicate their historical understanding in a variety of ways.

Teachers use questioning and discussion to develop pupils' historical thinking and encourage children to explain their ideas using evidence. Where appropriate, children are given opportunities to investigate artefacts, photographs, documents, maps and other historical sources.

The curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of all learners. Teachers provide appropriate scaffolding, vocabulary support, visual resources, modelling and additional opportunities for consolidation where required. More confident learners are challenged to make connections, justify interpretations and use evidence independently.

Assessment is embedded within teaching. Teachers use questioning, retrieval activities, discussion, written work and other forms of assessment to identify what pupils know, understand and can apply. Misconceptions are addressed and teaching is adapted accordingly.

Where appropriate, links are made between History and other areas of the curriculum, including English, Geography, Art and Design and Computing, helping pupils to understand that historical knowledge can be explored and communicated in different ways.

Impact

The impact of our History curriculum is that pupils develop a secure and increasingly sophisticated understanding of the past. By the end of each phase, pupils should be able to demonstrate both the historical knowledge they have acquired and the disciplinary skills they have developed.

Children should increasingly be able to place significant people, events and periods within a chronological framework and make meaningful connections between them. They should be able to use appropriate historical vocabulary and communicate their understanding clearly.

Through the curriculum, pupils develop the ability to:

• Recall and apply important historical knowledge.
• Place events and periods within a chronological framework.
• Explain similarities and differences between people, places and periods.
• Describe and explain change and continuity.
• Explain historical causes and consequences.
• Identify and explain historical significance.
• Ask relevant historical questions.
• Use evidence from sources to support conclusions.
• Recognise that sources may provide different perspectives.
• Understand that interpretations of the past can differ.
• Explain their ideas using appropriate historical vocabulary.
• Make connections between different periods of history.
• Demonstrate curiosity and interest in the past.

Progress is evidenced through children's work, classroom discussion, retrieval activities, questioning and teacher assessment. Monitoring of History considers the progression of both substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge, ensuring that pupils are building upon prior learning rather than simply completing individual topics.

By the end of EYFS, children have developed an emerging understanding of past and present and can talk about experiences, people and events that are significant to them.

By the end of KS1, pupils have developed a basic chronological framework and can demonstrate knowledge of significant people, events and changes. They can begin to use evidence and historical vocabulary to answer questions about the past.

By the end of KS2, pupils have developed a broader chronological understanding and can draw upon substantive knowledge and disciplinary skills to investigate and explain the past. They can use evidence, recognise different interpretations and communicate historical arguments with increasing independence.

Ultimately, we want our pupils to leave primary school as knowledgeable, curious and thoughtful historians, equipped with the knowledge and skills to understand the past and to continue asking meaningful questions about the world around them.