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History

Our main aim is to create an interesting scheme of work, helping children to learn the importance of skills as well as knowledge. We introduce children to the fact that a world existed before they, and those around them, were born. We know what it was like from the evidence left behind, but often there are not enough clues to tell us the full story, so we have to do our best to complete the picture.

Intent

History is all about people. The study of people from different times and different places is the most important aspect of our work.

History fires pupils’ curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. Pupils consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like, how these societies organised their social systems which in turn influence their actions. As they do this, pupils develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people in history. They see the diversity of human experience, and understand more about themselves as individuals and members of society. What they learn can influence their personal choices, attitudes and values.

 

At Eastcourt, History is the process of:

  • enquiry

  • the search for evidence

  • the examination of evidence

  • the recording of evidence

  • the interpretation and weighing of different sorts of evidence.

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Implementation

Our History curriculum has a regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and review and the celebration of good practice.   

 

The teaching, learning and sequencing of the History curriculum follows: 

  • The subject is taught weekly and aims to ensure coverage and progression in all skills relating to history. Moreover, there is an opportunity at the end of year to revisit historical skills that need further consolidation and to use new knowledge to reinforce prior skills. 

  • In KS1, the historical skills will focus on the world around them and their living memory, before moving to events that go beyond living history. This will ensure a firm foundation for KS2. 

  • In KS2, the curriculum builds on the understanding of chronological order and allows children to reference the previous events in time and to refer to this prior learning year-on-year and within the year.  

  • The progression of skills is set out in order to build and develop the following: 

  • Chronological Understanding 

  • Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past 

  • Connection and historical links 

  • Interpretations of history 

  • Historical enquiry 

  • Lessons will develop long term memory by allowing for repetition of learning within the year and year on year.  

  • Historical vocabulary is taught within individual lessons and reinforced throughout the year.  

  • Spiritual, Moral Social and Cultural education is threaded through the history curriculum to link it to their lives and explore their heritage as well as important phases in history.  

 

History should be fun and satisfyingly challenging.  At Eastcourt we believe learning in history takes places most effectively when:

Pupils build on what they already know, making connections and developing their understanding.

  •  

  • Pupils feel relaxed and secure so they are willing to take risks.

  • Pupils feel confident about their ability to master new learning.

  • The tasks set present achievable challenges.

  • Pupils can discuss their ideas.

  • They can reflect on their learning.

  • They are well motivated and the work seems relevant to them.

  • They are encouraged to learn in different ways.

Impact

The impact of our history curriculum is for pupils to be enquiring and challenging thinkers who appreciate that there is much we can learn from the past, and have the skills and the passion for doing so in the future.

 

To measure the impact we have chosen to focus on a specific concept (enquiry). It is our goal that:-

 

  • Children will become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking making informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past. 

  • Children will become increasingly aware of how historical events have shaped the world in which they currently live. 

  • They will also have an understanding of history on a local level and on a small-scale.  

  • Children will develop enquiry skills to pursue their own interests within a topic and further questioning. 

  • Where applicable, children will have encountered or participated in high-quality visits/visitors to further appreciate the impact of history. 

  • Children retain prior-learning and explicitly make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning.  

 

We aim to:

  • enable pupils to understand how and why people behave as they do now;

  • enable them to understand themselves;

  • give them the confidence and ability to try to improve themselves and their world;

  • help them to develop a sense of responsibility for the world in which later generations will live;

  • enable them to ask and answer significant questions;

  • enable them to think for themselves and to reach fair and rational conclusions about complex human situations;

  • inspire in them a lasting interest in, and enjoyment of, learning about the past.

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