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History

Intent

Our core aims for history are to ensure that all children:

Are able to define history and why it is important to our lives.
Understand the society around them and the changes that took place for it to be as we know now.
Hear and preserve stories of the past.

Can identify change in the world around them.
Know and understand aspects of history in the wider world and the impact of these events on their local area.
Ask questions about stories they hear, developing and understanding the methods of historical enquiry.

Implementation

We believe the following are key ingredients in history are: the chance to learn and use a range of historical vocabulary; learning about events that have made changes within or before their living memory; engaging fast paced lessons; whole class and small group discussions and enquiries about unit questions; learn to use a range of sources to question events and their integrity; to secure a knowledge of when key events in history occurred chronologically; ongoing training for all staff and assessment.

What this looks like in practice:

History is taught in three half-termly blocks throughout the school year alternating with geography.
Each class has a one-hour history lesson once a week.
The units and lessons are based on a question to discuss and inquire about, helping children develop opinions about historical facts and events.

Classes talk about why things have happened in the past and the impact they have had on modern life.
All children will have the chance to learn about historical events, people and places that have made an impact on/in our local area.
Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.
Know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.
In early years we focus on the understanding of today, tomorrow and yesterday, helping develop basic concepts of time and history.

Children will learn about the changes to them and the world around them as they know it.
We use talk for learning in our lessons to guarantee that all students practice their speaking, reading, writing and listening skills.
SEND students are provided with differentiated work to ensure their understanding of history concepts and vocabulary. E.g. word mats, visuals, support from the teachers.

Schemes, programme and resources used to support history:

Plan Bee

Impact:

The impact of our history curriculum is as follows:

Children have the knowledge that history is something that has already occurred.
They are able to place events they have learnt about on a timeline and recall simple facts.
Children are able to successful order studied events chronologically.
Children learn research and questioning skills which they employ to learn more about events and form their own opinions on historical events.
Children ask their own questions about historical events and people of importance.

Children learn the different sources for researching history and use these to research events and draw their own conclusions and thoughts.
Children learn the job roles related to history such as a historian, archaeologist, archivist, etc.

SMSC in history:

History is key to developing SMSC. At Sayes Court reading is used to develop SMSC across the curriculum.

Spiritual development: History enables children to ask questions about life, make connections and develop a set of values, beliefs and principles reflecting on their own lives and how they have been affected by significant historical events, people and places.

Moral development: History inspires children to reflect on consequences, confidently express views, make rational judgements therefore becoming more willing to review and alter their views and values about events and ideas.

Social development: by learning the importance of source checking and deep questioning children learn to be able to sensitively challenge the opinions of others. By studying those events, people and places who have made significant changes to history we are preparing children to make a contribution to society as we have learnt the patterns and changes in society and why these have been important to our lives.

Cultural development: History allows pupils to understand their own culture and beliefs and what shaped them, helping them to respect and appreciate the cultures of others as they learn about them and the impact they have had on their own lives.

History Topics by Year Group

Year group	Year N	Year R	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Autumn 1	Understanding the World – Differences Between People Tolerance Mutual Respect Teamwork What makes us different?	Understanding the World – Family History (My Grandparents) Curiosity	Homes in the Past Curiosity Reflection	Communication Then and Now Curiosity Individual Liberty Reflection British Sign Language	The Railway Revolution Curiosity Determination	What was it like for children in WW2? Empathy Democracy Individual Liberty Resilience Teamwork Determination What happened at Bamber Bridge? The experiences of black soldiers in WW2	Local History Study Respect Curiosity Democracy Rule of Law Reflection Trip: Local History Walk	Leisure and Entertainment Curiosity Individual Liberty Mutual Respect How have black Britons faced discrimination in the film industry?
Autumn 2	Understanding the World – My Family Curiosity Reflection What do families look like?	Understanding the World – Stories from the Past (The Story of Baby Jesus / Celebrations Music) Respect Tolerance Mutual Respect What are some similar stories to the Nativity story?	Debate topic – Should I be allowed to choose my own snacks?	Debate topic – How old should I be to get my own mobile phone?	Debate topic – Should we care about the environment?	Debate topic – Is Winston Churchill a real hero?	Debate topic – Should our local sites be preserved?	Debate topic – Has the internet changed our lives for better or worse?
Spring 1	Understanding the World – Other People’s Families Tolerance Curiosity Reflection What do families look like?	Understanding the World – Then and Now (Old Clothes) Curiosity Reflection Different clothing	Castles Kindness Rule of Law Resilience Teamwork Determination Class inequality then and now – Norman nobles and Anglo-Saxon peasants Trip: Windsor Castle	The Great Fire of London Empathy Honesty Rule of Law Resilience Teamwork Determination Trip: The Museum of London	Stone Age to Iron Age Curiosity Resilience Teamwork Where did some of the world’s earliest civilisations develop? Trip: Butser Ancient Farm	Anglo-Saxons, Picts and Scots Curiosity Tolerance Mutual Respect Determination Trip: Chertsey Museum	Who were the ancient Greeks? Curiosity Democracy Individual Liberty Teamwork Confidence Resilience What are some other great civilisations in this period?	Medicine and Disease Kindness Empathy Resilience Teamwork Determination
Spring 2	Understanding the World – Family History (My Parents) Curiosity	Understanding the World – Photos of the Past (Plants) Curiosity Resilience	Debate topic – Should rich people take care of poor people?	Debate topic – Who should be blamed for the Great Fire of London?	Debate topic – What was the purpose of Stonehenge?	Debate topic – When a hoard of artefacts / gold is found, who should get to keep it?	Debate topic – Should we still have a monarchy in Britain?	Debate topic – Should everyone get vaccinated?
Summer 1	Understanding the World – My Life Story (What happened last week?) Curiosity Reflection	Understanding the World – Life Story (What happened last month? / mini beasts) Curiosity Resilience	Famous Queens Curiosity Democracy Confidence Famous women in history	Florence Nightingale Kindness Empathy Confidence Determination Famous women in history	Invaders and Settlers: Romans Kindness Tolerance Individual Liberty Mutual Respect Reflection Why are invasions often linked to ethnicity?	The Indus Valley Curiosity Tolerance Reflection Teamwork Famous people from South Asia	Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons Empathy Curiosity Tolerance Resilience Teamwork Confidence Determination Why are there so many conflicts around religion?	The Kingdom of Benin Curiosity Tolerance Reflection Teamwork Famous people from Africa Trip: The British Museum
Summer 2		Understanding the World – Roles in Society Respect Curiosity Individual Liberty Mutual Respect Teamwork Determination What are some careers that people have?	Debate topic – Which queen was the best one?	Debate topic – Is the NHS good for us?	Debate topic – Is it OK for one country to invade another?	Debate topic – Should we worry about climate change?	Debate topic – Should refugees be allowed to move to Britain?	Debate topic – Should we return artefacts to their countries of origin?

Progression of Skills and Knowledge

EYFS

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Chronological Understanding

3 to 4 - Begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history.
Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.

Sequence events in their life
Sequence 3 or 4 artefacts from distinctly different periods of time
Match objects to people of different ages
Understanding of history and what this means. That it’s something that has happened in the past.

Sequence artefacts closer together in time - check with reference book
Sequence photographs etc. from different periods of their life
Describe memories of key events in lives

Place the time studied on a timeline
Use dates and terms related to the study unit and passing of time
Sequence several events or artefacts

Place events from period studied on timeline
Use terms related to the period and begin to date events
Understand more complex terms e.g. BC/AD

Know and sequence key events of time studied
Use relevant terms and period labels
Make comparisons between different times in the past

Place current study on timeline in relation to other studies
Use relevant dates and terms
Sequence up to 10 events on a timeline

Range and Depth of Historical Knowledge

Birth to 5 - Make connections between the features of their family and other families.
Reception - Talk about members of their immediate family and community.
Reception - Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.
Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

Recognise the difference between past and present in their own and others’ lives
They know and recount episodes from stories about the past
Understanding of historical vocabulary.

Recognise why people did things, why events happened and what happened as a result
Identify differences between ways of life at different times
Understanding of historical vocabulary.

Find out about everyday lives of people in time studied
Compare with our life today
Identify reasons for and results of people's actions
Understand why people may have wanted to do something

Use evidence to reconstruct life in time studied
Identify key features and events of time studied
Look for links and effects in time studied
Offer a reasonable explanation for some events

Study different aspects of different people - differences between men and women
Examine causes and results of great events and the impact on people
Compare life in early and late 'times' studied
Compare an aspect of life with the same aspect in another period

Find out about beliefs, behaviour and characteristics of people, recognising that not everyone shares the same views and feelings
Compare beliefs and behaviour with another time studied
Write another explanation of a past event in terms of cause and effect using evidence to support and illustrate their explanation
Know key dates, characters and events of time studied

Interpretations of History

Reception - Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.

Use stories to encourage children to distinguish between fact and fiction
Compare adults talking about the past – how reliable are their memories?

Compare 2 versions of a past event
Compare pictures or photographs of people or events in the past
Discuss reliability of photos/ accounts/stories

Identify and give reasons for different ways in which the past is represented
Distinguish between different sources – compare different versions of the same story
Look at representations of the period – museum, cartoons etc

Look at the evidence available
Begin to evaluate the usefulness of different sources
Use text books and historical knowledge

Compare accounts of events from different sources – fact or fiction
Offer some reasons for different versions of events

Link sources and work out how conclusions were arrived at
Consider ways of checking the accuracy of interpretations – fact or fiction and opinion
Be aware that different evidence will lead to different conclusions
Confidently use the library and internet for research

Historical Inquiry

Reception - Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.

Find answers to simple questions about the past from sources of information e.g., artefacts

Use a source – observe or handle sources to answer questions about the past on the basis of simple observations.

Use a range of sources to find out about a period
Observe small details – artefacts, pictures
Select and record information relevant to the study
Begin to use the library and internet for research

Use evidence to build up a picture of a past event
Choose relevant material to present a picture of one aspect of life in time past
Ask a variety of questions
Use the library and internet for research

Begin to identify primary and secondary sources
Use evidence to build up a picture of a past event
Select relevant sections of information
Use the library and internet for research with increasing confidence

Recognise primary and secondary sources
Use a range of sources to find out about an aspect of time past
Suggest omissions and the means of finding out
Bring knowledge gathered from several sources together in a fluent account

Organisation and Communication

Communicate their knowledge through:
Discussion….
Drawing pictures…
Drama/role play...
Making models….
Writing...
Using ICT…

Recall, select and organise historical information
Communicate their knowledge and understanding.

Select and organise information to produce structured work, making appropriate use of dates and terms.

Subjects

History

History Topics by Year Group

Progression of Skills and Knowledge

Curriculum

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