Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement: History

Intent

At Northbury Primary school, we believe that history education should be fully inclusive and maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We strive to inspire in our pupils a curiosity and fascination about history through a broad and balanced curriculum; ensuring the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skills; and for the children to develop a love for history which will help them have a better understanding of British history and that of the wider world.

We work to develop an understanding of chronology as well as a knowledge and understanding of how the local area has changed over time. The children are given the opportunity to examine, interpret and evaluate a variety of sources in order to make deductions about the past.

Children learn to think and behave as historians and archaeologists. The children are also encouraged to pose their own historical questions. We investigate how and why the world has changed as well as what we can learn from the past to make the future a better place. British Values are woven into the History curriculum promoting values such as Mutual Respect, Tolerance and Individual Liberty. Themed days such as Black History, Remembrance and Significant Women promote such values. Themed days, visitors and school visits are used within the History curriculum to develop a deeper understanding of the time periods studied and to inspire the children so that they have a lifelong love of History.

We aim to build a History curriculum that is taught through a termly topic interwoven with units of Geography, under the umbrella of Humanities.  The school’s topics will be cross-curricular and intrigue our children, whilst meeting the needs of all backgrounds, cultures and abilities.  History will be taught alongside geography within this topic, developing learning and resulting in pupils knowing more, remembering more and understanding more. We are determined to embed history into a progressive curriculum, giving children the appropriate bank of key vocabulary, subject knowledge and skills so that they can reach and exceed their potential at Northbury Primary School and beyond.

All staff are committed to ensuring that children are taught about varied historical events and famous people that have helped to shape the world they live in today as well as helping them understand society and their place within it, so that they develop a sense of their cultural heritage. Children will learn to apply the knowledge and skills acquired within history lessons to other subjects to make learning memorable and fun, for example, producing art or DT to support their understanding.

Implementation

At Northbury Primary School, Our History curriculum aims to excite the children and allow them to develop their own skills as historians whilst following the National Curriculum. As part of a topic led programme it allows opportunities for cross curricular links to be made to ensure the children have many occasions where by they can apply their knowledge and understanding. The school uses a range support to plan the curriculum, including use of the PlanBee scheme.

EYFS/YR

Children will learn to talk about past and present events in their lives and in the lives of family members.

Key Stage 1

Children will learn to develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They 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 use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They 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 understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented. Children will learn and research particular people and places (through records and artifacts)

Key Stage 2

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 note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid arguments through questioning about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance through class debates. They 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.

Impact

The school has a supportive ethos and our approaches support the children in developing their collaborative and independent skills, as well as empathy and the need to recognise the achievement of others. Through high quality teaching, guidance and effective feedback, most children will achieve age-related expectations by the end of each year group.  Through monitoring the evidence of work will show a range of history being taught across the topics, and cross-curriculum links. By the end of Key Stage Two children’s natural curiosity will have been fired, with the hope of encouraging a life-long interest in understanding the past and the impact it has on their present and future, particularly in their local and cultural communities.