History

Intent

At Stretton Handley CE Primary School, our History curriculum is knowledge rich and ensures that key concepts and vocabulary are reinforced in meaningful contexts. This is achieved through first-hand experiences and our authentic outcomes. Concepts are deliberately constructed so our children’s historical knowledge is built upon each year. This allows the children to understand their personal and local history and the history of the wider world. Children will learn this through a chronological framework, drawing upon historical significances and understanding the cause and consequence of events, which will allow them to comprehend their historical legacy and how this impacts their future.

Implementation

At Stretton Handley CE Primary School, History is taught through a topic approach alongside curriculum subjects. Our curriculum is carefully planned over topic cycles to engage and excite all our learners. Our long-term and medium-term plans map out the skills and themes covered each term for each key stage. These plans define what we will teach and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in history lessons. Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in history and we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our history lessons. We believe in whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities.

We believe children learn best when:

  • They have access to, and are able to handle artefacts
  • They go on visits to museums and places of interest
  • They have access to secondary sources such as books and photographs
  • Visitors talk about personal experiences of the past
  • They listen to and interact with stories from the past
  • They undertake fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives
  • They use drama and dance to act out historical events
  • They are shown, or use independently, resources from the internet and videos
  • They are able to use non-fiction books for research
  • They are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions.

Impact

We are looking to find out if our children have built upon their learning from previous years and are able to make links between historical events and how these have shaped the world we live in. Children will make connections between what they have previously learnt and what they are currently learning. The children will become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking, making informed and balance judgements based on their knowledge of the past. They will develop enquiry skills to pursue their own interests within a topic and further questioning. All these skills will be transferable between other areas of the curriculum. The learning environment across the school with be more consistent with historical vocabulary displayed, spoken and used by learners.

History Policy- 2022

History Knowledge and Progression Overview