History

History Plan

Intent

At St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we aim to provide a high-quality history education which will enable pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and events that have shaped the world today. Teaching will equip pupils to ask and answer perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. We aim to extend our knowledge of key historic events and periods through engaging and enriching school visits which also help to deepen our pupil’s understanding. Through our teaching of History, we aim to develop the essential knowledge, skills and understanding, which are the building blocks for later life.

Implementation

We follow the National Curriculum for History. It is taught in key stage 1 and 2 as part of a half-termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. Teachers plan their History lessons with reference to the school’s Progression of Knowledge and Skills document. This document ensures the curriculum is covered in a comprehensive way and that the skills and knowledge that are taught are progressive from one phase to the next.

In order for children to know more and remember more in each area of history studied, the lesson sequence is structured whereby prior learning is always considered and opportunities for revision of facts and historical understanding are built into lessons. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, our curriculum helps children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenge. The revision and introduction of key vocabulary is built into each lesson. Teachers use regular checking to assess pupils understanding within the lesson.

EYFS

As part of the EYFS Framework, children are taught all about ‘Understanding the world’. This covers People and Communities and The World. They are encouraged to look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change, to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members.

Impact

The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of skills. Children will therefore be expected to leave St Joseph’s reaching at least age-related expectations for History. Our History curriculum will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic history learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice and their work.