As children move through the years at our school, they build upon and cement their existing knowledge to allow them to develop a rich historical vocabulary as well as coherent and secure chronological foundations. Our curriculum has been carefully designed to be real and relevant, develop an understanding of British and World history and ensure coverage of the National Curriculum. The units of work have been sequenced into four key curriculum strands, each of which develop substantive (abstract) concepts and knowledge: Invasion and Conflict, Empire and Civilisation, Innovation and Invention, Power and Influence (inc. Important Figures). Through historical enquiry, children learn about the past and gain an understanding of how knowledge is acquired in history through the process of questioning and the use of sources. Further skills specific to the teaching of History which promote and teach critical thinking are the disciplinary concepts. These skills have been carefully considered within each unit of work to show coverage and progression of these skills and concepts.

We aim to inspire children to have a lifelong history passion through exposure to a range of historical periods and significant events and figures within this. Cross-curricular links are embedded in our approach to teaching History to fully immerse children in their historical enquiry whilst ensuring diversity and British Values are represented throughout the curriculum.

In KS2, the curriculum is in chronological order because we feel this allows children to have a deeper understanding of history by knowing what has come before that time period across the world and what was happening concurrently. It enables children to make links between historical time periods and themes, including similarity and difference whilst securing their understanding of the progression of time.

Each learning journey begins with a baseline to establish prior knowledge of what children already know, and what they’re curious to find out about. The subsequent lessons are carefully sequenced with the aim to discuss, challenge and answer the overall historical enquiry question whilst aiming for progression in skills, vocabulary and knowledge during the journey. Children are exposed to a variety of sources and artefacts and learn skills and knowledge to enable them to develop as inquisitive historians. Trips and visitors are highly valued to immerse children in their historical enquiry.

Over time, children become increasingly independent in forming their own and evaluating others’ conclusions, with consideration of reliability and context.