History

Intent

The greatest intent of our history curriculum is to cultivate a love of history among students, encouraging them to engage with the past through inquiry and exploration. By using the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) scheme of work to inform planning, we aim to provide a structured framework that not only imparts essential historical knowledge but also fosters critical thinking skills. Our curriculum is designed to inspire a desire to connect with the past, allowing students to develop knowledge of historical events and figures and consider these with an empathetical approach. They will be able to use historical skills such as interpreting evidence and inferring information from primary and secondary sources to build a chronological, layered picture of the past. We want our pupils to be passionate about asking questions and to be given the skills required to research and answer them for themselves in a quest to become independent historians.

Implementation

The implementation of the history curriculum is grounded in the principles of active learning and student engagement. Teachers utilise the PKC scheme of work to deliver lessons that are both informative and stimulating. Each unit is planned to incorporate a variety of teaching strategies, including group discussions, partner research and inquiry, role-playing, and knowledge sowing. This allows us to cater to different learning styles and promote collaboration among students. Lessons are scaffolded to ensure all children have successful access to the same curriculum. Three units are covered in each year group each year, in line with the National Curriculum 2014.

Lessons are structured to include key historical concepts, such as cause and consequence, continuity and change, and significance. This approach aims to equip students with factual knowledge but also encourages them to ask questions and seek answers, fostering a culture of inquiry. As Norfolk and the surrounding area is rich with history, we try to integrate local history wherever possible. Visits and visitors are used to bring history to life for students. Through local history and the study of significant national events, we encourage a deeper connection to our community and country, developing pupils' sense of belonging alongside their enthusiasm for history.

Teaching of specific, key vocabulary and the constant revisiting of this, is paramount to giving pupils the words and confidence to be able to talk about the past. We encourage learning to be recorded in a variety of ways, with extended pieces of writing becoming more commonplace with the older age-groups. Each unit has an accompanying knowledge organiser, which are provided to all pupils at the beginning of each unit, in order to provide and revise key information.

Revisiting learning and assessment processes are an integral part of the implementation process, with a focus on formative assessments providing feedback to students in lessons and summative assessment tasks being carried out at the end of units which encourage children to 'Show What You Know' in the form of double-page spreads, fact files or presentations to showcase learning.

Impact

The impact of our history curriculum will be measured through students’ ability to articulate their understanding of historical concepts and their enthusiasm for the subject. This is measured through independent end of unit work, as well as discussions with students.

By the end of KS2, students will have developed a solid foundation of historical knowledge and have begun to build a narrative which they can use to sequence historical events. They will also have developed essential skills such as researching, questionning, critical thinking, empathy and the ability to engage in informed discussions about the past.

We endeavour to make sure that students leave junior school with a lasting love of history and are confidently equipped with the tools to continue their exploration of the subject in secondary education and beyond if they wish.

Talking to our pupils about history will demonstrate enthusiasm, passion and a willingness to share deep understanding and knowledge.