History

History Curriculum Statement

Aiming High Together

INTENT

At Lowton West Primary School we believe that the history element of our curriculum will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.

As our pupils progress as Historians, they will become equipped to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We want pupils to understand 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. The content and principles underpinning our history curriculum are taken from the 2014 National Curriculum.

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts: understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales

IMPLEMENTATION

At Lowton West, these skills are embedded within the history lessons and developed throughout their journey of the history curriculum. By the end of their primary education, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from Stone Age to present day. They are able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. Interlinked with this is the need to look at world history such as the ancient civilisations of Greece, Egypt and the Mayans.

We use the National Curriculum Programmes of study to guide us on the content and focus of each objective to inform our curriculum. These units are enriched by cross curriculum work when appropriate. We also encourage a project based approach to learning with an emphasis on people and community in our local area. Children as Historians learn through enquiry based learning opportunities to gain a greater understanding of our local area.

Visits and visitors to school are promoted, to enrich our history curriculum and further deepen that historical enquiry, through the use of questioning and listening to eye witness accounts and experiences.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) follows the ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ guidance which aims for all children in reception to have an ‘Understanding of the World; people and communities, the world and technology’ by the end of the academic year.

Teachers, in parallel classes, plan together to create engaging and informative teaching and learning opportunities which take into account prior learning, plan for opportunities for assessment and identify suitable future targets.

IMPACT

At Lowton West we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on analytical thinking which helps children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and fires children’s curiosity to know more about the past. Through this study our Historians learn to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

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