History
History
Intent:
Our intent when teaching History is to promote an inquisitive nature in pupils and a desire to learn about and from the past. Historical knowledge and understanding gives children the building blocks of investigative learning that go onto shape their further learning and to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the past in Britain and the wider world.
History provides a sense of identity and through a deep understanding of the past, we aim to help the children in our school understand the world around us, where it comes from and our shared place in it. For these reasons, we endeavour to help pupils understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups in the challenging world we live in today.
We aim to provide children with the historical skills to see the interconnectedness of our shared world and the impact people and peoples have on each other.
Implementation:
We teach the National Curriculum, which is supported by a comprehensive progression document for staff. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children. Resources provided by History Specialists at the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.
EYFS
The EYFS curriculum supports children’s understanding of History through the teaching of ‘Understanding the World’. Children learn about features of their own environment through first-hand experiences and learn how environments and cultures may differ through books, stories, poems, small world play, role play and visits. Children are given time to discuss, comment and ask questions about what they observe about the world around them.
Key Stage 1
Children learn about significant people in the past and how they lived. They find out about significant men, women, children and events in recent times and more distant past, both in Britain and in the wider world. They learn how the past was different to the present. Children listen to stories, role play characters, use information sources to answer questions. Other topics outline changes in living memory and significant events beyond living memory which are significant nationally or globally.
Key Stage 2
Children continue to develop chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods studied. They will note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop appropriate use of historical terms. Children will understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources. At Sacred Heart we have a long-term plan with carefully planned year group units of work, covering the full range of skills. Medium term plans ensure coverage of knowledge and subject specific skills. Individual lessons are planned to inspire, engage and challenge all pupils. Children experience enrichment experiences both in school and on trips planned to engage and enrich the children’s understanding of history.
All History lessons are tailored to the needs of the children, activities are modelled and tasks are differentiated to include every child.
In order to support children in their ability to know more and remember more, there are regular opportunities to review the learning that has taken place in previous units, as well as previous lessons.
Lesson content and tasks are designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners, in line with our commitment to inclusion.
Children are given Learning Journeys at the start of each topic which details some key information and vocabulary. This is not used as part of an assessment, but to support children with their acquisition of knowledge and are used as a reference document.
Effective CPD materials, including ‘subject knowledge guides’ are available to ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained.
Effective use of educational visits and visitors are planned, to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experiences within the History curriculum.
Teachers Assessment for Learning at different points in each lesson to ensure misconceptions are highlighted and addressed.
Effective modelling by teachers ensures that children are able to achieve their learning intention, with misconceptions addressed within it.
Through using a range of assessment tools, differentiation is facilitated by teachers, to ensure that each pupil can access the History curriculum.
Pupils are regularly given the opportunity for Self or Peer Assessment, which will then be used to inform planning, preparation, differentiation and address misconceptions within that lesson, or for the next lesson.
Small groups of students are selected at the beginning of each lesson to taking part in a pre-teaching activity. This ensures that no child is left behind.
Impact:
At Sacred Heart Pupil pupils are confident and able to talk about what they have learnt in history using subject specific vocabulary. They demonstrate they enjoy history and are able to recall their learning over time making links and comparisons. Our children develop a sound overview of the past and the ability to analyse it with a critical mind.
Our assessments and monitoring allow us to see the impact of our teaching, guide future planning and ensure that our standards of teaching are high. Children are able to monitor their own progress and knowledge using a Learning Journey, that is provided at the beginning of each unit.