History
Christian Value: Forgiveness and Respect
Intent
At Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School, our History curriculum is guided by
our Christian vision that “All things are possible for one who believes”, and is deeply
rooted in our ACHIEVE curriculum drivers:
• Aspire
• Challenge
• Honour every individual
• Inspire curiosity and creativity
• Embed strong values
• Value community and global connections
• Empower through knowledge
Using the Kapow Primary scheme as a basis, we aim to inspire pupils to be curious and
creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and
the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think
critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence.
Our curriculum aims to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in
global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time.
History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the
diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying
History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the
way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an
opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes. At Kirby Hill, we aim to support
pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making
connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge
of History.
In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, at Kirby Hill School
we aim to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion,
settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of
humankind, society and culture.Our Christian Value for this subject is Forgiveness and Respect. We place a special
focus on developing local links, and look at how these tie into British and Christian
values. This helps the children to understand what is rooted in the locality and
supports children’s character development.
History at Kirby Hill is not just about making things - it's about creating enthusiastic
and inquisitive historians who can apply their knowledge and understanding of the
past to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and
develop perspective and judgement.
Implementation
Our History curriculum has following key strands:
Our curriculum emphasises the importance of historical knowledge being shaped by
disciplinary approaches, as shown in the diagram above. These strands are interwoven
through all our History units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences
which allow the children to investigate history as historians do.
Each six-lesson unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place
in time of the period they’re studying and make comparisons in other parts of the
world. In EYFS, children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key
experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their
own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters
from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how
individual lives fit into broader historical narratives. Children will further develop
their awareness of the past in Key stage 1 and will know where people and events fit
chronologically. This will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can referto throughout their learning in Key stage 2 and identifying connections, contrasts and
trends over time.
There are two EYFS units focused on each of the history-related Development
matters statements. These units consist of a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated
activities which can be selected by the teacher to fit in with Reception class themes
or topics. In Key stage 1 and 2, units are organised around an enquiry-based question
and children are encouraged to follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate,
Interpret, Evaluate and conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions.
Over the children’s time at Kirby Hill, children develop their understanding of the
following key disciplinary
concepts:
• Change and continuity.
• Cause and consequence.
• Similarities and differences.
• Historical significance.
• Historical interpretations.
• Sources of evidence.
These concepts will be encountered in different contexts during the study of local,
British and world history.
Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, are introduced
in Key stage 1, clearly identified in Lower key stage 2 and revisited in Upper key
stage 2 (see Progression of skills and knowledge) allowing knowledge of these key
concepts to grow. These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning
that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are
crucial to their future learning in History.
At Kirby Hill we follow a spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge
are returned to and built upon. For example, children progress by developing their
knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by
experiencing them in a range of historical contexts and periods.
Lessons are designed to be varied, engaging and hands-on, allowing children to
experience the different aspects of an historical enquiry. In each lesson, children
will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing
their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider
world. Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as
their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied.Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly-effective
and robust history curriculum. Each unit of lessons focuses on the key subject
knowledge needed to deliver the curriculum, making links with prior learning and
identifying possible misconceptions.
We alternate our History teaching every half-term with Geography.
Impact
The impact of History can be constantly monitored through both formative and
summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support
teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, each unit
has a knowledge assessment quiz which can be used at the end of the unit to provide
a summative assessment.
After the implementation of our History curriculum, pupils should leave school
equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary
education. They will be enquiring learners who ask questions and can make
suggestions about where to find the evidence to answer the question. They will be
critical and analytical thinkers who are able to make informed and balanced
judgements based on their knowledge of the past.
The expected impact is that children will:
● Know and understand the history of Britain, how people’s lives have shaped this
nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
● Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient
civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind.
● Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts - power,
invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of
mankind and society.
● Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and
change, similarity and differences.
● Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact
our world
both in history and from the present day.
● Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.
● Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to
create structured accounts.● Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using
evidence.
● Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.