History

Intent

At Hoo St Werburgh Primary School, our teaching of history will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world to build respect, appreciation, and pride of their country and their local area. We aim to inspire pupils’ curiosity about the past to develop their understanding of key events and how these have impacted, and will continue to impact, on society. 

We have designed our curriculum to ensure coverage of the national curriculum content, with progression building on previous knowledge. The knowledge requirements for each learning journey are clearly set out, which show the breadth of study across the whole school and the progression of skills.

These are the key elements of history from the national curriculum:

• Chronological understanding
• Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
• Historical interpretations
• Historical enquiry
• Organisation and communication

Implementation

In EYFS, history is taught through the specific area, ‘Understanding the world’, with links continually made to the prime areas. In Year 1, history is covered through a creative curriculum, with a wealth of cross-curricular opportunities constantly available within the environment. In years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, history is taught through question-based learning journeys, which the children explore throughout the term. Teachers work together to ensure a breath of study is covered, whilst allowing the children’s interests and questions to shape their learning journeys.

All learning journeys begin with a WOW moment, which are designed to capture the children’s interest and allow them to immerse themselves within a particular area of the curriculum. Teachers will use a range of resources such as Kapow, Hamilton and Corner Stones to create a bespoke curriculum relevant to our children and their lives. As well as the discrete teaching of history, our learning journeys will provide opportunities for links to history across the entire curriculum. Children will have the opportunity to revisit prior knowledge and embed sticky knowledge through the use of knowledge organisers, timelines and flashbacks to prior year groups. Working practically using artefacts, pictures, written sources and technology is central to our approach, as well as trips to historical sites and inviting visitors from the community in to inspire our children. Children are given the platform to ask questions, think critically, and develop perspective and judgement. 

Curriculum leads ensure coverage across the school for both disciplinary and substantive knowledge through our Hoo Curriculum Checklist (H.C.C). Progression of skills are considered carefully when designing long- and medium-term plans and evidenced in books and through pupil voice interviews. The curriculum is carefully crafted to enable children to retrieve prior learning, regularly recall information and showcase what they have learned in a final end of term assessment. Teacher will use this these tools to inform their teacher assessments which are uploaded to our tracking system (HAT). Curriculum leads then use this data to track the attainment and progress of each class and also to identify trends. 

Impact

Children will develop a passion for both local and world history and have a strong understanding of what it is to be a historian and the necessary skills that are needed. They will have a sound understanding of chronology across time and the impact of key historical events on modern day. Crucially, children will develop their transferable skills of critical thinking when evaluating sources, as well as the ability to ask and answer questions to deepen their understanding. As a result of this, data will show that the majority of children are working at or above the expected level.

With high expectations for all, our curriculum will fuel children’s interest and enthusiasm to discover more and apply their knowledge to further develop their understanding of History.