Kirkbymoorside Primary School

School Curriculum - History

Intent

The aim of our history curriculum at Kirkbymoorside School is to stimulate our children’s interest and understanding of significant events from the past and how these have influenced and continue to influence our lives today. Throughout their learning, our children gain an understanding of chronology and develop their historical understanding by exploring substantive and disciplinary knowledge, through a range of historical concepts. Our children’s understanding of history is challenged and developed through historical investigations, enquiry-led questions, source analysis and problem solving. Throughout each topic, children will be challenged to use the key terms of ‘empire’, ‘influence’ and ‘trade’ to further strengthen their historical understanding of each time-period.

History teaching at Kirkbymoorside is hands on. We provide experiential learning, through themed days, visitors and school visits, to engage our children and secure a love of history. We ensure our topics lend themselves well to our promotion and learning of British Values, with talks of democracy through the ages and discussions about the rule of law, tolerance and the rights of people. Through this, they develop a sense of identity and cultural understanding based on their historical heritage, learning to value their own and other’s cultures in a modern and multicultural Britain.

Implementation

Our curriculum is taught on a two-year cycle (Year A and Year B) and within phases (Y1/2, Y3/4, and Y5/6). We teach the National Curriculum, supported by clear skills, knowledge and vocabulary progression, which is built on every year, maximising learning for all children. We place emphasis on the development of chronological understanding, enquiry and interpretation of sources, events, people and changes in the past and presenting, organising and communicating historical learning throughout each year group. A balance of substantive and disciplinary knowledge is taught in each history topic, allowing children to learn key facts, and enabling them to challenge evidence and findings through enquiry-based questions which require a deeper understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’.

History is organised into blocks under a theme and have been developed to help children make meaningful connections and comparisons across a range of civilisations and our life today. Cross curriculum links have been made to strengthen connections and understanding while exploring historical contexts. We maximise cross-curricular links particularly within our English curriculum, allowing children to explore, research and implement their new learned knowledge, skills and vocabulary with greater depth and understanding.

Kirkbymoorside School provides a motivating history curriculum, through trips and visitors, opportunities to handle artefacts, engaging activities, and links to our own, unique local history. These provide our children with opportunities to question the past, create memorable learning opportunities, while supporting and developing their skills, knowledge and understanding.

Impact

By the end of their time at Kirkbymoorside Primary School, we expect our children to:

· Have a secure knowledge and understanding of key events, people and contexts from the historical periods covered.

· Use dates and a wide range of historical terms when sequencing events and periods of time.

· Critically evaluate sources of information to choose the more reliable sources to answer questions.

· Consistently support, evaluate, and challenge their own and others’ views using appropriate and accurate historical evidence from a range of sources.

· Describe how some of the things studied in the past have influenced life today.

· Think critically about history and confidently communicate these in a range of styles to a range of audiences.

· Have a passion for history and a sense of curiosity about the past.

· Have an extensive knowledge of the key terms ‘empire’, influence’ and ‘trade’, to effectively compare different periods of time.

We recognise the importance of assessing the impact of our history curriculum, and regularly evaluate its effectiveness through pupil voice, teacher and subject leader observations and analysis of children’s work. We use these forms of assessment to amend our curriculum and teaching approaches, when necessary, to ensure that we continue to provide a high-quality history education that meets the needs of all children. At the end of each topic, children complete a ‘double-page reflection’ about their learning. This allows all children to celebrate their learning and teachers to assess each child’s understanding, knowledge and skills.