Earlham Primary School

Intent

Our History Curriculum gives pupils a secure chronological knowledge and understanding of British and world history, which inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Our aim is that pupils are able to identify clear time periods and be able to explain how the knowledge gained from each one builds progressively. We want pupils to understand the lifestyle of each time period and how this compares to their own; to be able to explain the legacy left by historical periods or figures, and how this relates to their life now.

Our teaching equips pupils to reflect on how we arrived to where we are and how we live today. One of the key skills pupils should be able to demonstrate is to be able to gather knowledge from Primary and Secondary sources and compare the reliability of evidence. Pupils get to ask perceptive questions, think critically, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We encourage the children to question the sociology of the past and make links between life in the past and life today.

Implementation

We teach history every other half term, with plenty of opportunities in between half terms to revisit and recap knowledge through reciprocal reading extracts, quiz sessions, and linked serial reads for example. There are also strong links made between other subject areas where history learning can be embedded, for example in geography, RE and English. A key part of our implementation is the use of prior knowledge and the opportunity to build on knowledge cyclically throughout the entire curriculum through the use of themes.

Some of the themes/ concepts in our history curriculum

• The UK has long been a place of immigration, invasion and settlement, challenging fixed concepts of what British is and who is British:
  • The Global Village (Y2), The Romans in Britain (Y3), From Angle-land to England - Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans (Y4), The World on the Move - post-war immigration (Y5)
• This theme supports our pupils to see themselves as British and understand their place in British History and modern Britain. We build upon this to ensure our history curriculum is inclusive and diverse through the inclusion of of Black and Asian ethnic minority figures throughout history and study the ‘Golden Age of Islam’ in Year 6
• We tell history as a story to support our children’s understanding, and link our learning with the English curriculum, for example: In KS1 (Gunpowder Plot, the Great Fire of London, The Victorians)
• Another theme is that of our rights, how they have changed over time, and who and what has influenced those changes, for example: In KS1 (Could I Change the World? Our Rights?). In KS2 (Our Changing Community, The Changing Rights of Women).

Sequencing learning

The history curriculum starts with local and personal history (Bonfire Night, toys, homes) then start to work back through time as children journey through the school. In Years 3, 4 and 5 our history units are sequenced chronologically, and in Year 6 pupils use history to critically examine key social issues today.

Within a unit the sequencing is determined by the key knowledge outcomes. For example:

The Gunpowder Plot (Y1) - we have sequenced the lessons to take the learning beyond the basic facts that are usually taught in KS1, beyond Bonfire Night and fireworks

• what are the key facts about the Gunpowder Plot: when it happened, key figures, what the plot was designed to achieve, why the plot failed - this is taught as a story, using drama
• understand that in the 1600s Catholics were not allowed to practise their religion, and starting to understand they were persecuted
• why we celebrate Bonfire Night - understanding that it celebrates the failure of the plot and that the king’s life was saved
• consider some of the ways life has changed since 1605: clothes, forms of punishment for crime, freedom of religion

The Victorians (Y2) - this is a unit that could be taken in many directions - the royal family, industrialisation, technological change, holidays at the seaside, schooling and education. We decided to focus on what we think is most relevant to our pupil’s lives today and their future learning

• some facts about Queen Victoria: birth, death, reign, marriage and family
• working conditions in Victorian times (this touches on industrialisation and urbanisation)
• how rich and poor Victorians lived (introducing the link between work, income and living conditions)
• some of the jobs done by poor Victorian children e.g. mudlark, chimney sweep (and contrasting their lives with that of the young Princess Victoria)
• some similarities and differences in schools in Victorian times and today (including a visit to the Ragged School Museum and workshops on school and on the lives of working children)
• know that Queen Victoria ruled over a British Empire without ever leaving Britain (this leads directly to the next term’s unit of learning Our Global Village).

The Romans in Britain (Y3) - we discussed what the key knowledge was that we wanted the children to know by the end of the unit and this then shaped the order of lessons

• why the Romans invaded Britain
• why the invasion was so successful (the highly trained and organised army)
• who was living here and what were their lives like before the Romans invaded
• the reaction of the Celts to the Roman invasion, Boudica
• how the Romans lived, their daily lives
• why we remember the Romans, how their legacy shapes our lives today including ethnic minority Romans

Impact

By the end of Reception our pupils know that the world used to be different to what they experience today. They know that they have changed over time and so have other things such as transport.

This knowledge is then built upon and deepened throughout the KS1 History curriculum so that children finish year 2 with deep local historical knowledge and the building blocks for a solid understanding of UK historical periods and events, as well as the emerging sense that history is happening, and that one day they could be a historical figure who could change the world!

By the end of  KS2 our pupils are engaged and confident historians, able to recall knowledge, identify links, think critically and develop their own judgements about the past. This impact is measured by monitoring children’s books and speaking to them about their learning; it is clear they are learning more and remembering more and that they can use their historical knowledge and skills to deepen their understanding across the wider curriculum.