History

History 

Vision: 

At Blackpool, the main goal of the History curriculum is for our pupils to develop a sound knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our exciting and broad curriculum has been designed to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and significant aspects of History through questioning and investigation of 3 key concepts; settlement, democracy and innovation and invention, and impact on influencing changes in different time periods. Chronology is taught progressively and is a core thread taught in every unit of work. We want to ensure that learning is engaging and actively promotes an understanding of key historical events through the exploration of skills and knowledge. Teachers plan lessons so that children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and its links to present day. We encourage children to have a fascination about the world and its people, and we have ensured our history curriculum allows our children have an awareness of a range of significant people who represent a diverse scope of protected characteristics, to further embed an understanding of inclusion in the ever-changing world.  

We intend to inspire all children to excel in History and tailor our teaching and learning to suit their needs. As well as following a key-stage appropriate progressional programme of study, we also plan many opportunities for cross-curricular learning including trips, visitors and residentials, maximizing the use of our surroundings and local area. To ensure the retention of key information in children’s long term memory, pupils are expected to take responsibility for leading their own learning, build on prior knowledge and ask questions to apply key skills independently. Key vocabulary for units of study are mapped out and revisited to ensure children understand, use and are confident to use historical language.  

We have a 2 year rolling programme of History themes, based on the National Curriculum, each linked to the 3 key concepts which underpin our long-term plan.  The curriculum is designed to build on prior knowledge, provide a high-quality progression of skills from EYFS to Year 6 and it allows the children to successfully make connections with other areas of their learning. Teachers modify teaching approaches to ensure that the curriculum and learning is accessible for all.  

Aims in History: 

Early Years: 

Pupils will be taught to: 

• Be curious about people and show interest in stories about themselves and their family.  

• Enjoy pictures and stories about themselves, their family and other people.  

• Show interest in the lives of people who are familiar to them and remember and talk about significant events in their own experience.  

Key Stage 1:  

By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will be taught about: 

• Changes within living memory  

• Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally  

• The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods  

• Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality 

Key Stage 2:  

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will be taught about: 

• Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age 

• The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain 

• Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots 

• The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor 

• Relevant local history  

• A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 

• The achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when they appeared and an in-depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer, The Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt, The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China 

• Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world 

• A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history  

Assessment monitoring and review: 

Pupils will be assessed on their subject knowledge, skills and application, against our planned curriculum, which has overarching curricular goals for each key stage, that children are expected to achieve. 

There are a number of ways that teachers will form an assessment of the children’s abilities in History. Please see the school Assessment and Feedback policies as well as the assessment methods below. 

Attainment judgements will be made against a range of evidence including – written/printed evidence, teacher/pupil discussions, conferencing and self or peer reflections. Concept maps could be used to elicit initial information and build a bank of knowledge and learning as the topic progresses. Teachers ensure prior knowledge and previous learning goals are secure before moving on to new content. 

End of unit assessment projects or tasks could be used to assess the acquisition of skills and knowledge against the curricular goals for the unit of work. There will be opportunities for children to demonstrate new learning and learning over time.  

At the end of each unit of work, teachers assess children against the unit intentions, and the overarching curricular goals. Review of Medium Term Plans support teachers to know what areas have been secured and how the attainment of the children impacts on future planning. Subject leaders and senior leaders will have discussions with pupils and teachers, alongside our curriculum plans and evidence of work, to ensure that all essential elements of our curriculum have been delivered.  

This is what our children say about History in our school...

'Learning History is really interesting because it helps you to learn about how people lived in lots of places and times in the past. Some things are really different to the way I live today.' Year 3

' Learning about the past, like World War II and the Victorians, helps people to think about  a better way to live.' Year 6

' I know what a time line is and how to order places that happened in the past.' Year 5

'I like learning about different famous people who did important things - like Mary Seacole.' Year 2