HISTORY CURRICULUM INTENT:

 

INTENT:

At Ferring C.E Primary School we believe History should be ambitious and motivating.  We aim to ensure that all of the children at the school gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Teaching will equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement. History, by nature, is an investigative subject. Through our teaching at Ferring, we intend to provoke thought, questions and to encourage children to discover answers to their own questions through exploration and research to enable them to gain a greater understanding and knowledge of the world and their place in it. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups. It also helps children gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background.  We want our children to understand how we GROW as individuals and as part of society because of our past, present and future.  Children will have opportunities to investigate significant historical events on a local, national and global stage.

IMPLEMENTATION:

In order to foster children’s curiosity about the world, interest and creativity, we are enthusiastic about History and encourage children to explore and ask questions. At Ferring CE Primary School, in Key Stage 1, History is taught through a skills/topic based curriculum, which follows a carefully planned transition from the Early Years to suit the needs and chronological age of each class. We ensure coverage of the National Curriculum across all year groups and enable teachers’ autonomy to use the use the National Curriculum to select objectives and tailor teaching and learning to meet the needs and interests of the children in their class. By the end of Year Two, it is expected that the children will have developed their knowledge and understanding of all of the skills set out in the National Curriculum for Key Stage One.

In planning to ensure progression in Key Stage 2 teachers will combine overview and depth studies, through topic based activities. Each class has a long-term plan with two to three History topics, which are covered over the year. Topics generally alternate with Geography. History can also be linked into some Geography topics, where appropriate. This helps ensure that all areas of the National Curriculum are covered and gives opportunities to study in greater depth. Children will experience lessons focusing on: changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, the Ancient Egyptians, the Ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain, Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots, the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle to the time of Edward the Confessor and have included a historical study of Ferring.

We use timelines as a teaching strategy that can help students construct an understanding of historical events over time, even the youngest students. Literature is used to show, model, and help students develop concepts about time, continuity, and change in social studies as a basis for developing timelines.   We use artefacts as a WOW to the start of a topic as well as throughout the topic. This will encourage the children to BELIEVE they can be history detectives by getting them to think about what the artefact is for, where it is from and how old it is. Artefacts help pupils question and understand the past.  All staff are encouraged to use the amazing resources at hand to promote historical enquiry and interest.  Inviting people into school to talk about; demonstrate or re-enact aspects or periods in history has the effect of bringing history alive to the children and provides them with a more visual view of the topic they are covering.  Where possible we use of ICT to support learning and make the curriculum accessible for everyone.

INTENDED IMPACT:

By the end of each key stage, pupils will know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. Children will ACHIEVE the age related expectation within History and their knowledge and skills will develop progressively as they move through the school. By the end of Key Stage 1 children will have a secure knowledge base having been taught about: changes in living memory, events beyond living memory, the lives of significant individuals and significant historical events.  This will be coherently built upon through Key Stage 2 as children learn about the key periods in local, British and world history.