History Curriculum

Intent

To have an awareness and curiosity about life in the past both in Britain and in the wider world.  Pupils are encouraged to use historical skills to develop their knowledge through studying historical events, places, and key people.  We structure lessons around different methods of historical enquiry, to enable children to ask questions, think critically, and develop perspective and judgement.  Pupils will understand the complexity of people's lives, the process of change, and the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups.

Implementation

History is taught as part of a half-termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.  In ensure high standards of teaching and learning in history, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the school.  In EYFS, pupils develop an understanding of the world around them.  Pupils are encouraged to talk about the past and present events in their own lives and the lives of family members.  In KS1, the historical skills covered focus on the world around them and their living memory of history, before moving to events that go beyond living history.  Pupils develop the skill of comparing life in the past to life in the present using a range of historical sources.  In KS2, pupils engage with periods and Civilisations of history for the first time, building their chronological understanding by focusing on topics from the Stone Age to the twentieth century.

At St. Anselm's, the History curriculum is designed to be enquiry-based, where lessons are structured around a 'Big Question'.  This enables pupils to explore the past through a range of historical sources, aiding the pupil with information to answer the Big Question by the end of the unit.  We ensure key vocabulary (Star Words) are explicitly taught during the lessons, and pupils are assessed on these words at the end of each topic.  To ensure the retention of information, regular starter activities are incorporated as part of our lesson sequence.

Impact

We measure the impact of the History curriculum through a variety of methods.  Pupils are assessed on the STAR Words at the beginning and end of each topic to show what they have learned.  Pupils are engaged in lessons and can answer questions to demonstrate their learning, and can ask questions to further their historical knowledge and understanding.  As a result of a high-quality curriculum, by the end of KS2, children develop critical and analytical thinking.