History
Intent
At Roche School we want our History curriculum to provide a coherent base of local, national and international knowledge that enables children to understand the past. This then becomes the foundation and inspiration for their engagement in the subject and drives their curiosity to learn more. We want children to develop the skills of historical study that will enable them to interpret history, raise their own questions about people and events in history, compare and contrast the past with the present and communicate what they know and what they think. Children will regard history as a subject that they enjoy and that they are engaged in. Children will appreciate what can be learnt from understanding history and how the lives of people in the past impact on their own lives now. Opportunities to continuously develop communication skills through learning in history are a feature of the curriculum.
At Roche School we want our History curriculum to provide a coherent base of local, national and international knowledge that enables children to understand the past. This then becomes the foundation and inspiration for their engagement in the subject and drives their curiosity to learn more. We want children to develop the skills of historical study that will enable them to interpret history, raise their own questions about people and events in history, compare and contrast the past with the present and communicate what they know and what they think. Children will regard history as a subject that they enjoy and that they are engaged in. Children will appreciate what can be learnt from understanding history and how the lives of people in the past impact on their own lives now. Opportunities to continuously develop communication skills through learning in history are a feature of the curriculum.
- Our curriculum for History is based on the progression of aims and subject content from the National Curriculum as well as the new (Sept 2021) EYFS Framework
- Units of history are not taught in chronological order but placing learning in chronological order and understanding chronology is reinforced throughout.
- The rationale for curriculum content has been informed by a number of key drivers;
- opportunities to focus on local history and local context
- focusing on historically significant people that are relatable, inspiring and interesting
- a consideration for the representation of famous women in history
- content that is complimented by a quality text that reflects our intent to expose children
- to a variety of texts that are engaging and encourage enjoyment of reading
- Delivery of the curriculum draws upon and compliments our focus on the development of reading and writing skills. Knowledge will often be delivered and discussed using school’s shared reading strategy. Teachers may identify complete texts to deliver content or use extracts from fiction and non-fiction sources.
- History learning activities are planned to deliver content and concepts but also practice and develop the skills that historians use to analyse, interpret and communicate understanding of History. These skills are;
- Chronological understanding
- Knowledge and understanding of past events, people and changes in the past
- Historical interpretation
- Historical enquiry
- Organisation and communication
- At the heart of each unit there are enquiry questions and children’s ability to develop their own lines of enquiry in history is a feature of skills development in this subject.
- History is often placed at the heart of a half term topic from which other areas of learning are linked or derived but at other times history content may be delivered as standalone learning or as a component of another subject topic. The rational for the approach chosen is led by teachers and based on the rational described above.
- Opportunities to take children to visit historically significant sites in their local area to contextualise learning in history and spark imagination are fully developed throughout the curriculum thus enhancing children’s cultural capital.
- History is sometimes delivered through super learning days where the entire day is devoted to learning in one subject. These days may form part of the sequence of learning I an aspect of history or be standalone learning days.
- We emphasise the learning and application of the specific vocabulary associated with the area of study as well as the concepts and skills. We want children to be able to understand and apply the associated vocabulary when speaking about history as well as when recording or writing.
- We have planned activities to revisit learning within year group as well as in subsequent years. Children have the opportunity to reflect on the key knowledge and revisit it.
- Children record and communicate their learning using Knowledge organisers. These provide structure but also freedom to record the knowledge and skills learnt independently thus indicating true levels of understanding.
- Where appropriate teachers will use floor books to capture children’s learning. In these books a group of children’s responses and outcomes may be collected. The teacher may have scribed answers and responses for younger children or children who are struggling with written communication. The assessment may be drawn from photographs as well as written outcomes.
- Teachers will assess learning from the Knowledge organiser and floor book outcomes against the lesson objectives planned for each unit.
Impact
- Children will regard history as a subject that they enjoy and that they want to engage with.
- Children will have a breadth of knowledge about many aspects of history and a foundation in the skills needed to be a historian.
- By the end of key stage 2, children will know about historically significant people from their locality as well as from their country. They will understand who they were, what we can learn from their lives and their impact on the way we live now.
- They will know how their locality looked in the past and can compare it with the way it is today.
- They will understand how the actions of civilisations and their people from long ago have impacted on the way we live now, how their influence can still be felt.
- They will understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance.
- May 2021 independent assessment of impact
- Assessment of impact by Claire Fortey (TPAT Director of Education) and Chris Gould (Primary Executive lead)
- Independent assessment of History at whole school level by TPAT’s director of Education indicates that the outcomes in children’s work are good.
- Pupil conferencing indicated that 75% of the children spoken with could confidently talk about the knowledge and skills that they have been learning. All spoke positively about history as a subject and showed enthusiasm for their learning.
- Pupils at all levels demonstrated clear understanding of chronology and key facts from the subject areas studied. Even the younger children could talk about comparing periods of time.
- Children were clear on the link between their learning in History and their development of reading and writing.
- Evidence from Knowledge organisers indicates that teachers are using consistent strategies to deliver learning in History.
- Analysis of future planning and evaluation in preparation for 2021/22 by TPAT DoE indicates that school is seeking to make further improvements to provision.