History

"We are not makers of history. 

We are made by history."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Intent

History at Kingsway Primary School aims to deliver an accessible and rich curriculum that aims to maximise the outcomes for every child to allow for a secure knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and the past of the wider world. We believe that it is important that children develop a sense of identity through learning about the past and to understand how history has shaped their lives today and develop historical inquiry to understand this further.

Children progress as the curriculum allows them to make links between their current and previous learning by making comparisons between historical periods and therefore developing children’s chronological knowledge and understanding of the past. We also aim to enrich this understanding further through the use of visits as well as historical artefacts and supporting materials. 

Our carefully adapted planning supports the teaching and learning of History at Kingsway Primary School. It is a high quality, engaging and well-sequenced plan that shows the progression through the years as children build on their skills to gain a deeper and richer historical understanding. Skills are revisited and developed further as children broaden their knowledge through historical concepts and chronological learning and understanding.

Implementation

At Kingsway Primary, we follow a carefully constructed and ambitious History Curriculum that follows the content of the EYFS statutory framework and the National Curriculum.

The curriculum is structured to build upon prior learning as well as provide new learning opportunities. It builds on children’s development and understanding as well as provide new learning opportunities. This means that our children learn skills alongside knowledge, ensuring that both are explicitly developed. It builds on children’s development and understanding whilst encouraging them to question the world around them as well as the past.

The aim of our history curriculum is to enrich every child’s experience by creating an environment where they are motivated to achieve endless possibilities. Their learning is carefully planned, ensuring it meets their needs, both now and in the future. Teaching and learning is underpinned by opportunities for consolidation of essential knowledge, skills and understanding.  This ensures that children are able to make links between their current and previous learning by making comparisons between historical periods and therefore developing children’s chronological knowledge and understanding of the past.

Early Years: By the end of Foundation Stage  children should:

• Begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history.
• Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.
• Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
• Talk about the lives of people around them and their roles in society.
• Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

KS1: By the end of Key Stage 1 Pupils should be taught about:

• changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life
• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]
• 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 [for example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell]
• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

KS2: By the end of Key Stage 2 Pupils should 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
• a local history study
• 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 the first civilizations appeared and a 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 contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.

Impact

By the time children leave Kingsway Primary School, we hope that they have developed a passion for History and understanding of the past. They will understand how historical events have shaped the world around them and the lives that they live, retain knowledge and understanding of key periods in History and make connections between current and previous learning. Children are encouraged to tell a clear narrative of the history of Britain as well as being able to com[pare this to the History of the wider world. Children are encouraged to develop their thinking skills and make informed judgements from information and historical sources and use enquiry skills to investigate their own historical interests.

Files to Download