History Intent, Implementation and Impact

History Intent

At Greatfield Park Primary School, our history curriculum is designed to ignite our pupil’s curiosity about the past.

In line with the national curriculum, we use carefully sequenced lessons, inspired by the Cornerstones curriculum, to enable pupils to build on what they already know and understand. In the Early Years, our children focus on the history of their own lives so far. In Key Stage 1, pupils begin to learn about significant people and occasions in the past, progressing to more in-depth exploration of historical periods in Key Stage 2.

Due to our experiential approach, often involving visiting sites of historical importance and handling artefacts, learners will be inspired and determined to know more about the past by asking and answering big questions. They will gain coherent knowledge of Britain’s past to enable them to have a clear understanding of chronology. Pupils will develop a respect for historical evidence and make critical use of it to support their learning, whilst thinking, weighing evidence, sifting arguments, and developing perspective and judgement.

Pupils will be taught history from all corners of the globe throughout their time at Greatfield Park, which is key to see how people’s actions have had an impact both positively and negatively on others and how we can learn from that. By learning about people from other countries and backgrounds, our pupils will develop cultural awareness and understanding of differences in attitudes and values, and have an appreciation for these without judgment or prejudice

Where appropriate, pupils will be encouraged to apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills, using subject-specific vocabulary whilst presenting their work in written form, communicating ideas, researching in non-fiction texts and presenting and analysing data and figures.

All pupils are supported to achieve the expected national standards of history by the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. All pupils with SEND are fully supported with effective scaffolding measures. All pupils will have the opportunity to answer ‘deepen it’ style questions, to challenge and promote deeper historical thinking.

History Implementation

At Greatfield Park, history teaching and learning is progressed across the following areas of study:

• Chronology
• Investigation and Interpretation
• Knowledge and Understanding

Every class has two history themed curriculum projects each year (see our long-term overview).

In EYFS, children focus on their understanding of the world. Within this, they will comment on images of familiar situations in the past and compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.

In Key Stage 1 the following eras, events and people are studied: living memory; childhood and the 1950s; The Great Fire of London; Mary Anning and the extinction of dinosaurs; Significant people (Edward Wilson, Neil Armstrong; Rosa Parks; Emmeline Pankhurst); Significant monarchs (Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth II)

In Key Stage 2 the following periods of history are studied: Stone Age; The Roman Empire and Roman Britain; Anglo-Saxons and Scots; Vikings; Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China; Ancient Greece; Britain at War; Benin.

Book studies and writing units are linked to the history focus during the project. All projects have identified vocabulary for children to learn and apply.

History Impact

At the end of each unit there is an assessment with quiz where teachers can assess the children’s knowledge gained during each project. Pupils’ exercise books will evidence sequenced progress within each year group as they move through the school.