History
There is an ambitious curriculum set for History, supporting teachers to implement it through high-quality lessons and checking that everything is helping children to know more, remember more and do more.
If you would like more information in addition to that published on this page, please contact your class teacher.
Purpose of Study
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.
Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
History helps pupils 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.
Aims
The National Curriculum - History key stages 1 to 2:
Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
Our Approach
Inspirational People
At our school, we believe in using the power of inspiration to help shape the thinking and curriculum design of our students. That's why we have taken inspiration from successful and influential people who have made a significant impact in their respective fields. By studying their stories, we aim to inspire our pupils to aim high and achieve their own goals. We have carefully curated a list of inspirational figures, including scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists, to name a few. We have analysed what made them successful and incorporated their values, principles, and strategies into our curriculum design to provide our students with the tools they need to succeed. By doing so, we hope to empower our students to dream big and achieve greatness.
Intent
We are setting out to help our pupils be ...
- Understanding. To understand the impact History has on their lives today.
- Critical. Children enjoy opportunities to ask questions, think critically and develop perspective.
- Empowered. Children are empowered to develop their curiosity and resilience, through practical learning experiences.
- Creative. Learn to use their growing knowledge to develop and gain an Historical perspective and apply this in different contexts.
Implementation
We will do this by ensuring ...
- Children are taught a broad curriculum that includes enrichment opportunities.
- Children are taught to form their own opinions through Historical enquiries.
- A range of resources are used to support children experience History and make connections.
- Skills are taught progressively across all year groups.
- A range of resources are used to help children analyse and make connections to the History they learn.
Impact
We will have made a difference when ...
- As Historians, children learn lessons from History that influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future.
- Children will be engaged in their lessons and want to learn more.
- Children demonstrate a respect for evidence and explain how it can be used to unlock the past.
- Children will be able to share their thoughts and opinions demonstrating their value and engagement with the curriculum.
Threshold Concepts
These are our big takeaways called ‘threshold concepts’ - an overview of what we want pupils to know. They are the same for every year group and help us to ensure we build learning on the same ideas, that way we help children to be able to remember more meaningful connections rather than remembering isolated facts.
- Everyday life changes across time and can be influenced by invasion, conflict and past civilisations.
- Hierarchy is a way of organising people according to how important they are.
- Civilisations and their invasion of Great Britain, had an impact on life for the indigenous people.
- Historical information can be presented in a range of ways.
- Historical terms such as year, decade and century, can be used to describe different periods of time.
- A range of historical sources or artefacts, can be used to build a picture of a historical event or period of time.
- National and international events can have an impact on a locality.
- There are similarities and differences between periods of history.
- Significant events affect the lives of many people over a long period of time.
- A person who is historically significant, has made big change in their lifetime.
- Changes over time can happen rapidly or slowly and are affected by the desire for people to change.
- Individual events linked to themes, all show changes in British life over time.
- Key changes and events of historical periods can be placed on a timeline.
Progression on a Page ...
Here is an overview of what we expect children to be taught, know and do by the end of each year group.
Year R
- Children are taught about the people and society around them. They learn to talk about the different roles people have in their community and understand the importance of each role.
- Through exploring history and the past, children develop an understanding of the differences between things in the past and now. They learn to identify some key differences in society, such as changes in technology, clothing, and customs.
- Children are taught about the past through settings and events encountered in books read in class and through storytelling. They develop an appreciation for different cultures and traditions, and learn to understand how people in the past lived and worked.
- Through this learning, children develop their language and communication skills, as well as their understanding of history and society. They learn to think critically about the world around them and develop an appreciation for the past and its impact on the present.
-
Year 1
Children will be able to describe an aspect of everyday life within or beyond living memory. They can understand that historical events, people and periods can be represented in stories, pictures, writing or role play. Children will be able to use words and phrases such as here, now, yesterday and last week, to communicate ideas and observations of passing time and will be able to identify similarities and differences between ways of life within or beyond living memory.
-
Year 2
Children will be able to describe the everyday lives of people in a time period and the hierarchy of a past society. They can present historical information in a simple non-chronological report and use historical sources to begin to identify viewpoint. Children can describe, in simple terms, the importance of local events, people and places and explain why past events are significant. They will be able to describe how an aspect of life and changed over time and explain the importance of a significant individuals achievement as well as sequence information in chronological order.
-
Year 3
Children will be able to describe the everyday lives of people from historical periods and how past civilisations or lives of people in Britain, developed during the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages. They can identify the best ways to present historical accounts and information and can make deductions about the reliability of a historical source or artefact. Children can analyse a range of historical information to explain how national and international events impact locality. They will be able to explain similarities and differences between two periods of history and the cause and effect of a significant event.
-
Year 4
Children will be able to create and present a thoughtful selection of relevant information including aspects of British history beyond 1066, in a historical report or in-depth study. They can describe the hierarchy of different roles in ancient civilisations and will be able to explain the cause and consequences of the Roman invasion on Britain. Children can use more complex historical terms and identify bias in primary and secondary sources. They will be able to compare and contrast two civilisations and describe and explain the impact of a past society on a local community.
-
Year 5
Children will be taught how everyday life changed for people after invasions and this will help them understand the importance of past or ancient civilisations. They will explore the validity of a range of historical reports and articulate and organise important information using historically related vocabulary. Children will be able to find evidence from a range of sources, identify bias and form balanced arguments and will be able to compare and contrast an aspect of history across two or more periods studied. Children will then explain why aspects of history, or the acts of historical people, make them significant.
-
Year 6
Children will evaluate the human impact of war, oppression, conflict and rebellion on everyday life of a past society. They will think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and present a perspective on an aspect of history and then include abstract terms to express ideas and information. Children will identify different types of bias and then present and examine detailed historical narratives of significant people and events, producing a clear chronology of world history.
Units of Learning ...
Year 1 - Autumn
Helen Keller - A life without limits
During this project, children will learn the story of Helen Keller and explore how she learnt to communicate. They will also learn about the story of her good friend, Alexander Graham Bell, whose inventions and ideas helped Helen communicate, before understanding how Helen became an important campaigner for people's rights. They will then learn more about Louis Braille, the inventor of the reading and writing system that was so important to Helen, before using Braille to make their classroom more accessible for visually impaired people. The children will finally learn about Helen's influence on the world and how other people have been inspired by her life.
Year 1 - Spring
The Great Fire of London
Children will learn what London was like in the 1600s when the Great Fire of London began. Children will then use a timeline to sequence the main events. They will also learn why the fire spread so quickly and look at historical sources to find out how Londoners fought the fire. In addition, children will learn about Samuel Pepys and listen to extracts from his diary. Finally, they will learn how the Great Fire changed London forever.
Year 2 - Spring
Titanic Tragedy
This project will help the children to answer the question: Why is the sinking of the Titanic still remembered today? During this project, chidren will learn the story of the Titanic, from its ambitious construction to its tragic sinking on 15th April 1912. Through historical accounts and other sources of evidence, children will uncover the human stories and lessons learned from one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters.
Year 2 - Summer
Age of the Aztecs
This project will help the children to answer the question: Who were the Aztecs, and why did their civilisation end? During this project, children will learn how the Aztec civilisation developed in Mexico 500 years ago. They will explore the city of Tenochtitlán through an eyewitness account and map, and learn about aspects of everyday life. They will also find out about the importance of religious beliefs – and chocolate – in Aztec culture. At the end of the project, the children will learn how the arrival of the Spanish explorer and conqueror, Cortés, quickly brought the Aztec civilisation to an end.
IMAGE TO COME
Year 3 - Summer
Local history study
More details to follow
Year 4 - Autumn
Invaders and Settlers: The Anglo Saxons
During this project, children will explore who the Anglo-Saxons were, why they came to Britain and what happened after the Romans left. They will use stories and historical sources to investigate everyday life, learn about the spread of Christianity and discover the story behind Sutton Hoo. At the end of the project, they will consider the Anglo-Saxon’s lasting influence on Britain.
Year 5 - Autumn
The Greeks: A Lasting Legacy
In this project, children will discover how Ancient Greece, especially Athens during the Classical period, shaped the world. They will learn about Greek city states and explore evidence of life in Athens, including the development of democracy, philosophy, architecture, and theatre. Through historical sources, drama, and discussion, they will build their knowledge before debating which Athenian gift has had the greatest influence today.
IMAGE TO COME
Year 5 - Spring
Tech Through Time: Inventions that Shaped us
More details to follow
IMAGE TO COME
Year 6 - Spring
Kingdom of Benin
More details to follow
IMAGE TO COME
Year 6 - Summer
Our City's Growth Story
More details to follow
Year 1 -Summer
Schools Then, Schools Now
Children will learn about the history of their own school, before finding out what schools were like in Victorian times. They will study artefacts from Victorian schools to find out what they were used for and what they can tell us about the past. Children will 'meet' Samuel Wilderspin, the creator of infant school education, and experience what it was like to learn in a Victorian classroom. At the end of the project, they will compare schools in Victorian times with schools today.
Year 2 - Autumn
Flight Through Time
During this project, children will learn about the history of flight and how human invention and brave aviators have changed the world of aviation and our everyday lives. Using a range of different sources, they will learn key facts about the history of flight, from the first flight of the Wright brothers to the invention of the jet engine by Frank Whittle. They will also learn how brave aviators, such as Bessie Coleman and Amy Johnson, blazed a trail for others and broke barriers of race and gender before considering how flight impacts people's everyday lives.
Year 3 - Autumn
From Stone to Iron
In this project, children will work as historians to explore how people lived during the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, discovering how life evolved over thousands of years. They’ll investigate daily life – from hunting and gathering to farming and metalworking – and examine artefacts, including Iron Age hoards, to uncover stories about their makers. They’ll also meet figures like the Amesbury Archer and consider what his burial reveals about prehistoric beliefs and skills.
IMAGE TO COME
Year 3 - Spring
Building Britain the Roman Way
More details to follow
IMAGE TO COME
Year 4 - Spring
The Viking Age: Fear from the Sea
More details to follow
IMAGE TO COME
Year 4 - Summer
Cradles of Civilisation
More details to follow
IMAGE TO COME
Year 5 - Summer
Secrets of the Shang
More details to follow
Year 6 - Autumn
Hope, Heroes and the Home Front
In this project, children will explore the key causes of the Second World War and its impact on people in Britain. They will learn about evacuation, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and everyday life on the home front, using evidence and stories. They will also explore wartime jobs, propaganda posters and the events leading to Victory in Europe Day. Throughout the project, children will consider how people experienced the war in different ways and how they supported one another during difficult times.
