Stranton Primary School

Stranton Primary School
Only the best is good enough

History 

In History, we learn about past events and people and how they relate to present events and the future.

The teaching of History in Stranton Primary School fits in with our rationale and aims for our whole school curriculum:

They include ensuring that the curriculum:

  • Has the needs of the children at the heart of everything we do
  • Is based on a strong foundation of oracy
  • Meets the needs of our local community
  • Is full of exciting, enriching and enjoyable learning experience
  • Provides opportunities for our children, staff and parents to all learn together.
  • Positively improves academic outcomes
  • Prepares our children to become positive role models in and effective contributors to Society
  • Gives our pupils the chance to become the very best versions of themselves.

Or in short, a curriculum which provides only the very best education, opportunities and experiences for all of our pupils.

Vision for History

The aim of history teaching here at Stranton Primary School is to stimulate the children’s interest and understanding about important historical events and the life of significant people from the past. We do not simply want children to learn historical facts – we want them to alter their long term thinking relating to 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 develop an interest in the past and an appreciation of human achievements and aspirations
  • To instill in the children a curiosity and understanding of events, places and people in a variety of times and environments.
  • To understand the values of our society
  • To learn about the major issues and events in the history of our own country and of the world and how these events may have influenced one another
  • To develop a knowledge of chronology within which the children can organise their understanding of the past
  • To understand how the past was different from the present and that people of other times and places may have had different values and attitudes from ours
  • To understand the nature of evidence by emphasising the process of enquiry and by developing the range of skills required to interpret primary and secondary source materials
  • To distinguish between historical facts and the interpretation of those facts
  • To understand that events have a multiplicity of causes and that historical explanation is provisional, debatable and sometimes controversial.

Curriculum End Points

By the end of Key Stage 1, we want ALL children to:

  • Develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time.
  • Know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework.
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
  • Use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms.
  • Ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.
  • Understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

Pupils should be taught about:

  • Changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life.
  • Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]
  • The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods.
  • Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.

This will ensure all pupils are ready and able to access the Key Stage 2 curriculum and beyond.

By the end of Key Stage 2, we want ALL children to:

  • Develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study.
  • Note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
  • Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.
  • Construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.
  • Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Pupils should be taught about:

  • Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
  • The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain.
  • Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots.
  • The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor.
  • A local history study.
  • A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066.
  • The achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
  • Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
  • A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300. 

Teaching of History

History is taught as part of our ‘topic based’ foundation Curriculum. Objectives are progressive and sequential; teaching children a vast knowledge of key historical events and about the lives of significant people; whilst developing a strong historical vocabulary, an enquiring mind and skills to become a Historian.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in history lessons. Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in history and we use a variety of teaching styles in our history lessons. We believe in whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities. We believe children learn best when:

  • They have access to, and are able to handle artefacts
  • They go on visits to museums and places of interest
  • They have access to secondary sources such as books and photographs
  • Visitors talk about personal experiences of the past
  • They listen to and interact with stories from the past
  • They use drama and dance to act out historical events
  • They are shown, or use independently, resources from the internet and videos
  • They are able to use non-fiction books for research
  • They are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions.

We recognise the fact that we have children of differing ability in all our classes, and so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies which are differentiated by task, expected outcome and/or support from peers or adults.

Recording of History

In line with Stranton Primary School’s curriculum rationale of providing hands-on experiential learning, supported by our strong oracy foundation; history work will be recorded and evidenced in individual history books. These books will show the individual learning journey of each child and the progress they have made within each topic and across the curriculum.

Assessment of History

In order to assess the children’s knowledge in History, children will complete an end of unit assessment which will be evidenced in children’s individual history books. Throughout a unit, teachers will track the children’s progress against what has been taught to allow them to identify gaps in learning. This will enable misconceptions or knowledge which hasn’t been retained to be addressed in the revisit section of future lessons.  At the end of each term, teachers will give an overall judgement of each child, recording attainment on the school’s curriculum tracking sheet. This judgement will be based on evidence from children’s book, end of unit assessments and performance in class.  Teachers will also conduct observational assessments of children during lessons and assess verbal responses from children in line with our oracy framework.

Monitoring of History

Monitoring takes place regularly through children’s individual book scrutinies, lesson observations and through talking to the children – ensuring they enjoy each subject and are able to recall key knowledge and skills that they have been taught.

History Curriculum Overview

History Objectives by Year Group