History at Cloverlea

Intent

At Cloverlea, we aim to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. We aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time.

History helps children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying history allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.

Our curriculum aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of history. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries.

In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in history. We introduce pupils to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.  Our curriculum enables pupils to meet the end of Key Stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum and the aims also align with those set out in the National curriculum. For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards the Understanding the World Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further history learning in Key Stage 1.

Implementation

To meet the aims of the National Curriculum for history and in response to the Ofsted

Research review into history, we have identified the following key strands:

Our curriculum emphasises the importance of historical knowledge being shaped by disciplinary approaches, as shown in the diagram above. These strands are interwoven through all our history units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow children to investigate history as historians do. 

In EYFS, children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how individual lives fit into broader historical narratives. Children will further develop their awareness of the past in Key Stage 1 and will know where people and events fit chronologically. This will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can refer to throughout their learning in Key Stage 2 and identifying connections, contrasts and trends over time.

 EYFS focus on each of the history-related Development Matters statements. In Key Stage 1 and 2, units are organised around an enquiry-based question and children are encouraged to follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate and conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions.

Over the course of the scheme, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:

• Change and continuity.

• Cause and consequence.

• Similarities and differences.

• Historical significance.

• Historical interpretations.

• Sources of evidence.

These concepts will be encountered in different contexts during the study of local, British and world history. Accordingly, children will have varied opportunities to learn how historians use these skills to analyse the past and make judgements. They will confidently develop and use their own historical skill set. As children progress through the curriculum, they will create their own historical enquiries to study using sources and the skills they have developed. Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, are introduced in Key Stage 1, clearly identified in Lower Key Stage 2 and revisited in Upper Key Stage 2 (see Progression of skills and knowledge) allowing knowledge of these key concepts to grow. These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are crucial to their future learning in History. We follow a spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. 

Lessons are designed to be varied, engaging and hands-on, allowing children to experience the different aspects of an historical enquiry. In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider world. Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied.  Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts, concepts and vocabulary. Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly-effective and robust history curriculum. Each unit of lessons focuses on the key subject knowledge needed to deliver the curriculum, making links with prior learning and identifying possible misconceptions. Our curriculum has been created with the understanding that many teachers do not feel confident delivering the History curriculum and every effort has been made to ensure that they feel supported to deliver lessons of a high standard.

Impact

Our curriculum is monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, each unit has a skill catcher and knowledge assessment quiz which can be used at the end of the unit to provide a summative assessment. Pupils leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be enquiring learners who ask questions and can make suggestions about where to find the evidence to answer the question. They will be critical and analytical thinkers who are able to make informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past.

When leaving Key Stage 2 the children will:

● Know and understand the history of Britain, how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.

● Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind.

● Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts - power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind and society.

● From historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.

● Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.

● Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.

● Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.

● Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.

● Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.

● Meet the relevant Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the end of Key Stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key Stage 1 and 2.