St Helen's Primary School

St. Helen's Primary School

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History

Our School Vision

To create a school that enables all pupils (no matter what background or starting point)to achieve their full potential and promotes the school as a beacon within the community, where aspirations are achieved and dreams are a reality for all pupils, staff and families. 

Our History Vision 

The history curriculum at St Helen’s Primary School is designed to give children knowledge of their rich, local heritage alongside teaching them about British and World history, so that they can use their knowledge and historical enquiry skills to influence their future.


What does it mean to be an historian?


 Why is it important to know what it means to be an historian?

We study history because history does not stay behind us. Research by the History MOOC has shown studying history helps us understand how events in the past made things the way they are today.

At St Helen’s Primary School we understand that with lessons from the past we will not only learn about ourselves and how we came to be, but also develop the ability to recognise mistakes and create better paths for our societies.

Intent

At the heart of our History curriculum is the substantive and disciplinary knowledge that children need to prepare them for success in their education journey. Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and is bespoke to the school through the use of our local heritage and that of the wider environment.

Our curriculum is designed around the main pillars of History.

 Substantive Historical knowledge:

Topic knowledge – The time periods of history and areas studied.

Chronological knowledge - The understanding of the passage of time, but also how events fit chronologically within a time period.

Substantive Concepts e.g. empire, trade and tax

Disciplinary Historical Knowledge:

This is the understanding of the second order concepts. Those concepts which help children to understand how historians investigate the past, and how they construct historical claims, arguments and accounts.

These follow the strands:-

  • Sources and Evidence - An understanding of sources and how historians would use these to show how life was lived in the past.
  • Historical interpretations - The description, analysis, and explanation of past events.
  • Cause and consequence - Cause and consequence is a relationship in history between an event, a condition, or a decision (the cause) and the events or results that follow it (the consequences).Understanding cause and consequence is a key aspect of historical analysis and helps historians to understand how and why things happened in the past.
  • Change and continuity - Change and continuity form the foundation of the study of history, as historians seek to understand both the ways in which societies and cultures have evolved over time, as well as the ways in which certain elements have remained constant.
  • Similarity and difference - Learning beyond stereotypical assumptions about people in the past, to recognise and analyse the diversity of past experience.
  • Historical Significance - When deciding what people, events and ideas to examine, we have to choose only those which we consider to be the most important to our local community, nationally and globally.

 

    

Implementation

We implement a progressive History Curriculum throughout the whole school, through high standards of teaching and learning. We provide opportunities for children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective. Within our school, history is taught through a curriculum, which has non-negotiable skills for each year group, providing continuity and progression linked to the national curriculum.

To enhance our history curriculum and to encourage and enable pupils to develop their historical knowledge, we provide opportunities for children to really experience history. We do this by not only providing an extensive, well-planned history curriculum but also by providing artefacts, a variety of sources, museum visits, local-heritage trips, drama and ICT opportunities.  Within our medium term planning, we also encourage WOW Starters and Fabulous Finishers to immerse the children into the topics. Such experiences and resources brings history alive for our children.

Impact

The overall impact of this curriculum is that all children are equipped with historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for Key Stage 3 and life as an adult in the wider world. We want the children to be inspired by and enjoy history and to develop their historical skills. Children will be encouraged to be curious about the world around them and question the how and why, whilst gaining a greater understanding of their place in the world.

By the time the children leave St Helen’s Primary School, they will have developed:

A secure knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from the historical periods covered.

The ability to think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.

The ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.

The ability to think, reflect, debate and discuss the past forming and refining questions and lines of enquiry.

A passion for history and an enthusiastic engagement in learning, which develops their sense of curiosity about the past and their understanding of how and why people interpret the past in different ways.

SEND Statement 

Our History curriculum promotes and develops cultures, policies and practices that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging and believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. 

Documents

 

 

Books we use to support our curriculum

EYFS

KS1

KS2

Useful links

National Geographic kids History

 BBC Bitesize KS1 History

BBC Bitesize KS2 History

History for Kids

Oak Academy KS1 History

Oak Academy KS2 History

BBC Teach Primary History