Intent

Broad

• To cover National Curriculum programmes of study and outcomes.
• Students will develop a well-rounded knowledge of the past and its events with the understanding of the world around them and their own heritage. This will be taught through; chronological understanding, source analysis and interpretation and historical enquiry.
• A range of opportunities are provided to enable all pupils to communicate their knowledge and understanding of the subject. Links are made within and across units to support pupils in making connections and in developing a strong overview of chronology, breadth and local to global history.
• Links will be made with other subjects in the curriculum to reinforce skills, knowledge and understanding and enhance learning.
• There are a range of opportunities for enrichment experiences including learning outside the classroom. Some suggestions are provided for visits to museums related to the topic.

Balanced

• History and Geography are taught in alternate half terms. In the half terms where history is not taught, opportunities should be sought to maintain progress made within the subject. This could be through cross-curricular work for example in geography, or through the use of appropriate texts in literacy. Assembly time could also be used to introduce topics relevant to history and reinforce the use of key vocabulary and revisit concepts.
• Local history units are taught in the summer to facilitate the introduction of fieldwork.

Progressive

• Strands are built upon from KS1 to KS2
• Skills built upon from one year to the next with I can statements that break down the progression of knowledge skills and understanding into year group specific targets for our mixed year classes.      
• Within each unit there is time for the pupils to think deeply about an area of learning in a topic before they move on to the next one. They will have many opportunities to ask questions, discuss, communicate understanding and revise their ideas. This approach has led to the selection of some areas of knowledge in more depth within an area of study rather than trying to cover everything at a surface level.
• All pupils work on the same core tasks with accompanying materials. Those that grasp content and concepts quickly can go on to work on the ‘stretch and challenge’ extensions within a task. This will require them to go into greater depth, for example by making connections to other societies or time periods studied. They will be guided to look at concepts in greater depth, for example they will begin to categorise the causes of an event and to compare their importance. Those that are not sufficiently confident may be targeted for extra support.

Cumulative 

• Knowledge is revisited and skills developed by repetition and reinforcement in use with other curriculum areas and as pupils progress through the school.
• Within each unit there is a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ chronological understanding. The introductory lessons include activities using timelines to locate the period, person or event and to consider it in relation to other periods studied and the present day. Pupils will be required to consider other events, people and societies occurring at the same time locally, nationally and globally. There are recurring themes such as settlement, migration and religion which builds a stronger web of knowledge to ensure it sticks.
• The curriculum is designed to enable pupils to acquire a rich web of knowledge as the sequence and selection of topics builds on previous units and feeds forward to future learning. Within KS2 the British history units follow a chronological approach to support pupils in developing a clear long-term narrative across history.

Inclusive  

• Our history curriculum is designed so that all pupils can and should receive their entitlement to history within a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Those working towards expectations will work on the same tasks but may need greater support and may not complete all levels of an activity. They may choose to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding orally or visually, to avoid limited literacy skills hindering their achievements within the subject. In some cases they wil have specific  targets in their APDR or class intervention record
• Where possible, pupils will be supported through paired (partner talk) and group work. Questions posed within sessions provide opportunities for all pupils to be able to contribute. Pupils working above expectations are expected to undertake activities with greater independence and to be provided with some opportunities to make choices on how they learn and can communicate their knowledge.

Implementation

• A two year rolling programme is used to plan for the needs of mixed year classes. For each term there is a programme of study for each class. On average classes spend every other half term concentrating on History, normally 1 afternoon per week, with links to other subjects also.
• A breadth of teaching approaches appropriate to the content and desired learning outcomes are used to engage all pupils and enable them to not just acquire knowledge but to apply it in meaningful contexts.
• Appropriate discussion is recommended as a means of checking pupils’ learning systematically, identifying misconceptions and providing immediate feedback.
• Questions and tasks to stretch and challenge the most able pupils are incorporated where appropriate.
• Quality resources and materials are provided online to support the history curriculum and are sequenced towards the accumulation of skills, knowledge and understanding, working towards the next key stage.

Impact

• Teachers use formative assessment during teaching and learning and provide support as needed to ensure good progress.
• The level each child is working at (whether in line with the majority of I can statements for their year group, below or above) will be recorded and input into the school’s tracking system twice a year (February half term in preparation for written parent reports and at the end of the academic year to provide the receiving teacher with up-to- date information.
• The impact is evidenced through the pupils’ use and understanding of the knowledge, skills, concepts and specialist vocabulary. The broad range of approaches for pupils to communicate their knowledge ensures that everyone can demonstrate progression and impact. Pupils understand and can clarify to others what history is and the importance and value of studying the subject. They can explain to others how they are progressing and what they can do to get better in the subject.