History

Intent

The study of history ignites children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. Through finding out about how and why the world, our country, culture and local community have developed over time, children understand how the past influences the present. History enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity and a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. What they learn through history can influence their decisions about personal choices, attitudes and values.

At Crondall Primary, our intent, when teaching history, is to stimulate the children’s curiosity in order for them to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. We aim to teach the pupils about the past (substantive knowledge) and about how historians investigate the past, constructing historical claims, arguments and accounts (disciplinary knowledge).

By the end of EYFS…

Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families,

communities and traditions.

By the end of KS1…

Children should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

Pupils will be taught about:

changes within living memory.
events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally.
the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. These are used to compare aspects of life in different periods.
significant historical events, people and places in our own locality.

By the end of KS2…

Children will continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Pupils should be taught about:

Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain.
Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots.
The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor.
A local history study, such as the history of aviation.
A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066, such as the history of farming.
The achievements of the earliest civilizations –Ancient Egypt.
Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – Baghdad c. AD 900.

Implementation at our school

Our history is implemented through our topic based curriculum enhancing learning in other areas of the curriculum too. We use history topics as a driver for our topics linking with key literature to enhance and bring learning alive.

Impact

At Crondall Primary, we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on analytical thinking which helps children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and fires children’s curiosity to know more about the past. Through this study children learn to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

We’ve been learning about the Great Fire of London. I learnt about Samuel Pepys and how he buried his wine and cheese. It was really interesting. (Year 2 pupil)

I really like History because we learn about things that happen in the past which intrigues me. I’d like to be an archaeologist! I learnt extra at home because I enjoyed it. (Year 4 pupil)

I like discovering what life was like for different people in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. (Year 6 pupil)

How to support my child?

Visits to the library to look at history related topic books
Museum visits to help develop children’s understanding
Tv programmes and documentaries related to their topic