History

“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”

David McCullough, American author

Intent:

At Peel Common Primary School we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Curriculum for England (2015) which provide our children with the knowledge and key skills they need to build on for their future learning.  The intent of teaching history at Peel Common Primary School is to stimulate and engage the children’s curiosity and interest about people who lived in the past, through rich and varied learning opportunities.  We want to deepen understanding, inspire creativity and enquiry, promote reflective learning and enable pupils to communicate effectively based on their understanding of the key knowledge and skills of history.  The children are taught a sense of chronology, developing their understanding of other cultures as well as their own heritage, giving them a deeper sense of identity. The children learn how events in the past have influenced life today. Question led investigations are designed to give children experience of enquiry, problem solving, analysis and interpretation. The children are encouraged to ask why events took place and to question the consequences of decisions made by important peoples of the past.

Our aim at PCP is to encourage pupils to develop an appreciation and understanding of the past, evaluating a range of primary and secondary sources. Our historians will also be able to explain clearly how these sources give us an insight about how people around the world used to live and how these interpretations may differ. We aim to ensure that recognition and understanding of diversity in race, religion, gender and age is embedded within all areas of study. Pupils will be taught to make links between the areas of learning, with the aim of developing engaged, motivated and curious learners that can reflect on the past and make meaningful links to the present day.  

The National Curriculum states that ‘a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.’ To ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on, our History curriculum is organised into a progression model that outlines the skills, knowledge and vocabulary to be taught in a sequentially coherent way at the same time, accommodating our 2 year cycle.  Chronological Understanding; Historical Understanding; Historical Enquiry; Interpretations of History; Organisation and Communication are all mapped out to ensure that pupils build on secure prior knowledge.

History is delivered through subject specific teaching organised into blocks under a theme. Meaningful links with other subjects are made to strengthen connections and understanding for pupils. The History units taught have been developed to help children appreciate their own identity and the challenges in their time. It will help them understand the process of change over time and significant developments.

Implementation

All learning will start by revisiting prior knowledge. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections between periods and themes studied.  Staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. Tier three subject specific vocabulary is displayed on the learning wall along with key facts and questions to support recall, long term memory and deeper thinking.

Pupils are encouraged to think and justify ideas as historians using primary and secondary sources. They are taught to question the reliability and bias of evidence. Our historians will be given a variety of experiences both in and out of the classroom as appropriate and available to create memorable learning opportunities and to further support and develop their understanding. Cross-curricular topics maintain clear subject identity, but allow links to be made across subjects and give greater depth of knowledge and understanding about an era.

Formative assessment is ongoing throughout the units to inform teachers with their planning of lesson activities and differentiation. A summative assessment task is completed in each topic where key history objectives have been covered.

Impact

At PCP, pupils will be excited and enthusiastic about history and enjoy the topics studied, they will be able to recall their learning over time and make strong connections between periods covered. Pupil voice will show that pupils are confident and able to talk about what they have learnt in history using subject specific vocabulary.  Evidence of children’s learning in history will demonstrate that history is taught at an age appropriate standard across each year group with opportunities planned in for pupils working at greater depth. Work will be of good quality and demonstrates pupils are acquiring knowledge, skills and vocabulary in an appropriate sequence.

Anselm Kiefer, German artist