COLDEAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

HISTORY

Intent

At Coldean, children develop their historical understanding through relevant and exciting termly topics. Our intent is to offer a high-quality history education that will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

We aim to ignite children’s curiosity about the past and equip them to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We intend for our children to develop an understanding of 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.

Planning is informed by and aligned with the National Curriculum. Our History Skills Roadmap and Progression map outline the progression of key historical knowledge and skills that are covered at Coldean. The topics and lessons are sequenced so that knowledge and skills are revisited and built upon as children move through the school.

Children learn about the history of the local area. They are given opportunities to visit places of historical interest and learning outside of the classroom and do in depth studies of Brighton seafront in Victorian times and Brighton Pavilion’s role in WWI.

Our curriculum is sequenced in line with the EYFS Statutory Framework (2020), Development Matters (2020) and the National Curriculum for History (2013)

EYFS & KS1

KS2

Implementation

At Coldean, our motto is ‘Learning Together, Inspiring Each Other’ and collaboration forms a large part of history in our curriculum. We plan opportunities for children across the school to share their learning with one another.

Class assemblies take place every year and give children the opportunity to share their learning. Within class, the children are actively encouraged to share their ideas within focused discussion opportunities with the aim of making them more comfortable and confident in using key vocabulary and subject specific words.

Learning in History is organised into five strands: chronological understanding, historical enquiry, historical interpretations, organisation & communication, and understanding of events, people and changes to ensure that pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding is built upon through successive years towards clearly identified year group learning outcomes. Wherever possible activities are linked to year group topics to provide further engagement and purposeful learning.

History lessons in KS1 and KS2 enable key facts to help develop historical skills and enable the children to take part in interactive activities whilst they become familiar with a range of resources and key vocabulary. In EYFS the main focus of Knowledge and Understanding of the World is for children to discover the world around them and develop their understanding of how other people are different from them.

Children use Knowledge Mats designed to support learning across the curriculum, but include knowledge targets specific to history, as well as key vocabulary and related reading opportunities. These are shared with children and parents too, to assist with learning support at home. Each term, homework grids include a history-based task, which gives children additional opportunities to develop historical knowledge outside of school.

Where topics have a historical focus, children take part in trips to consolidate their history learning and make experiences more memorable for them. In addition to explicit History lessons, history is also taught with a cross-curricular approach, meaning that teachers plan in opportunities within guided reading, writing and mathematics lessons to develop and reinforce children’s historical understanding.

Where gaps in understanding are identified, lessons are adapted to address this. Often our cross-curricular approach offers opportunities to address these gaps promptly in English or Maths lessons.

Impact

Our History curriculum should ensure that children leave Coldean:

With knowledge and understanding of key history facts as detailed in the National Curriculum for History in KS1 & KS2.
Able to use a variety of key vocabulary with which to discuss their historical knowledge and understanding.
Who are increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking, making informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past.
Who are increasingly aware of how historical events have shaped the world that they currently live in.
With an understanding of key elements of local history.
With enquiry skills enable them to pursue their own interests within a topic and further questioning.
Able to demonstrate their new historical knowledge, skills and understanding through their ‘Double-Page Spreads’

Our History curriculum CPD should ensure that staff are knowledgeable and skilful teachers able to assess pupils’ learning against our Progression Map objectives.s.