St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Intent

At St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School, we are committed to providing all children with invigorating learning opportunities to engage in history.

History is about real people who lived, and real events which happened in the past. History is concerned with sequence, time and chronology and is the study of evidence about the past; it gives us a sense of identity, set within our social, political, cultural and economic relationships. History fuels children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world and plays an essential part in preparing us for living and working in the contemporary world.

Our intent is that our teaching of History will help children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world to build respect, appreciation, and pride of their country. We aim for it to inspire children’s curiosity about the past to develop their understanding of key events. Children will ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. Through the teaching of History, we endeavour to teach our children to understand the complexity of people’s lives, including those of the present, the process of change, the diversity of societies and beliefs, whilst celebrating these differences.  

In terms of specific history curriculum our intent is that: -  

· We celebrate the cultural capital intent above, children are taught history in an enriched and cross curricular approach, enabling progression of learning and skills amongst other subjects.

·  The curriculum is designed with the intention that every child can reach their potential in History. 

·  Activities and visits involving visitors and the community are planned in to provide first-hand experiences for the pupils to support and develop their learning as historians and their historical experiences.  

·  Children gain more historical experiences from going on visits and being proud of their heritage.  

·  History is promoted through the celebration of anniversaries, festivals, and events throughout the year, which are linked with other areas of the curriculum. 

·  Children will learn lessons from history to influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future, supporting school’s overall focus on enabling them to become responsible citizens. 

·   High quality history lessons will inspire children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians, understanding their role in time.  

Implementation

In Early Years Foundation Stage children learn about our world through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities, under the Understanding the World are of learning. Children are assessed against the Past and Present Early Learning Goal at the end of Reception.

Children are taught:

· To show interest in the lives of people who are familiar to them.

· To remember and talk about significant events in their own experiences

· To recognise and describe special times or events for family or friends.

· To show interest in different occupations and ways of life.

· To develop an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time.

· To talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members.

Planning is informed by and aligned with the national curriculum. In addition, in Key Stage 1 and 2, History is taught throughout using Cornerstones Maestro online platform. To ensure coverage of knowledge and skills are effective, they are carefully mapped across all year groups to allow children to achieve depth within their learning through specifically allocated enquiry-based approach topics. Progression is key to ensure all learning is building on prior knowledge and skills, therefore teachers are aware of the progression of knowledge and skills for each unit of learning and each lesson they plan (this can be viewed using the progression tab in the skill section of every lesson on the cornerstones online platform).

During Key stage 1, children develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They are taught to know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They are taught to be curious and ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. The children learn to understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented. In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing children to historical periods that they will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3.

Throughout Key Stage 2, children continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear accounts and links within and across the periods they study. In history lessons, children have the opportunity to use a range of materials and resources to enhance their learning and development within history. They note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop a clear understanding of appropriate historical vocabulary. They regularly address and devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They learn how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a variety of sources and that different versions of past events may exist, allowing them the opportunity to discuss their opinions and draw their own conclusions.

In line with the National Curriculum (2014), the aims of our history curriculum at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary school are to ensure that all children:

· Gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world which helps to stimulate pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.

· Develop a knowledge of chronology within which pupils can organise their understanding of significant events.

· Are encouraged to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

· Understand the importance of enquiry skills when learning.

· Begin 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.

· Make connections between time periods through key concepts of everyday life and society Including local, regional, national and international history.

· Gain and deploy a clear historically grounded understanding of abstract terms and key vocabulary such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’

During this Key Stage, children learn about the changes that happened in Britain from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. They also learn about the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain; both in the short term and to the present day. This study is followed by an investigation of Britain’s settlement by the Anglo-Saxons and Scots culminating in a study of the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor. We study these periods of history in a broad chronological order, to help support children’s understanding of chronology and trends over time. We study the impact of the World War II and the Blitz on the local community, showing how several aspects of national history are reflected in the locality. Children also explore the theme of, Monarchs then and now, examining the changing power of monarchs over time. In addition to this focus on British history, we study the achievements of the earliest civilizations, giving children an overview of where and when they first appeared and also the opportunity to study in depth early civilizations such as Ancient Egypt. Once again, the specific in-depth study will be selected to ensure effective and enriching cross curriculum links. Children’s study of ancient civilisations is extended by investigation of Ancient Greece, where children will study Greek life, the major achievements of this society and its influence on the western world. To further complement children’s understanding of society, children have the opportunity to study a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history, using early Mayan Civilisation.

To begin historical topics, a ‘Memorable Experience’ is planned to engage the children and stimulate their curiosity to know more about the past. Concept maps are created the beginning of each topic to help assess the children’s previous understanding. Children also record what they have learned comparative to their starting points at the end of every topic. All lessons give opportunities for knowledge to be revisited regularly. Key concepts and vocabulary lists support the children’s learning along with knowledge organisers.

Cross curricular outcomes in history are also planned for, with strong links between the history curriculum and literacy lessons enabling further contextual learning. The local area is also fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice.