History

Vision

At Broad Oak Primary the purpose of our history curriculum is to inspire in our pupils a curiosity and fascination about Britain’s past and the wider world. We aspire for our children to develop into active learners who not only have a passion for history, but who are equipped with the skills to think and act as historians.

Intent

The core aims of our history curriculum are for our children to be able to ask perceptive questions, to think critically, to weigh evidence and sift arguments and to develop perspective and judgement.

By making strong links to our wider local area in our History curriculum, we will enable children to develop a deep understanding of the rich history of the locality in which they live. This will support our children to develop perspective of how our locality is part of the story of history and help pupils to gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background.

Through the study of History at Broad Oak we want our children to be able to begin to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

We will help our children to understand that history is all around us and to use specific vocabualry to describe historical periods, events and artefacts. They will learn about the history of our local area and beyond. Our children will be taught about changes within living memory, events beyond living memory and about the lives of significnat individuals in the past and of significant historical events. They will also learn how life has changed through the ages starting at the Stone Age. Use our progression map and your child's year group curriculum map to find out more.

Our EYFS follow the “Development Matters in the EYFS” guidance which aims for all children in reception to have an “Understanding of the World; people and communities, the world and technology” by the end of the academic year.

At KS1 and KS2, we follow an enquiry-led curriculum which encourages and enables our pupils to develop their understanding of history’s disciplinary concepts and their ability to apply them. Our history topics begin with a key question which children are supported to answer through a sequence of effectively-planned lessons. Children are able to revisit key facts and information on a regular basis through retrieval activities and these ensure that the knowledge is ingrained in their long-term memory. The key knowledge and skills of each topic have been identified and consideration has been given to ensure progression throughout the school. We ensure that through the use of clearly-displayed timelines, children are able to contextualise their learning and begin to draw comparisons and contrasts through periods of time.

Cultural Capital: Through our history curriculum, children are able to celebrate the history, diversity and cultural wealth of the school’s wider community. Children are able to contribute to national historical events such as Remembrance Day and are also given the opportunity to learn about the heritage of their local area. Our local history topics are an integral part of the learning and these help to highlight the diversity of the wider community, whilst also instilling in every child a life-long love of history.

Enrichment: Our commitment to ensure all of our pupils reach their potential in history is supported by a number of enhancement activities including trips, visitors and use of artefact boxes.

How can you help?
Help your children to be aware of the history around them, visit museums, research at libraries and on the internet; watch and discuss history programmes together.

We measure the impact of our history curriculum through monitoring work, listening to the children’s attitudes about history through pupil voice, by taking learning walks, uploading evidence on Seesaw and data and gap analysis.