Intent
Our aim for History at Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School is to ensure that all pupils to develop an awareness of the past; an understanding of the present and have an insight into how both these impact on the future. Through evaluating a range of primary and secondary sources, pupils will also be able to explain clearly how these sources give us an insight about how people around the world used to live and how these interpretations may differ. As historians, pupils will be taught to make links between areas of prior learning, with the aim of developing engaged, motivated and curious learners that can reflect on the past and make meaningful links to the present day.
In line with our whole-school Curriculum Intent, teachers will enthuse and inspire pupils in History bringing the learning alive through practical, hands-on learning experiences. These experiences will pull on the use of real-life scenario based role plays, handling historical artefacts, using skills to carry out local studies, soak up knowledge through talks with individuals from the past and the first-hand experience of educational visits to name a few.
Through guided reading sessions, pupils will be immersed in non-fiction texts to further enhance their understanding of historical knowledge and skills. Key vocabulary will be sourced at the outset and defined clearly so as to allow all pupils to be able to fully comprehend and access their learning journey.
As always, our core school values will be seen through the subject. Pupils will be encouraged to have the confidence to be able to talk about what they have learnt in history using subject specific vocabulary. The will find enjoyment in the learning of history and have ambitions to be as successful as they can be within all of their work in this subject. Pupils will pull on their ability to show perseverance talking challenging historical concepts and to have empathy when considering the impact actions of the past have had on people.
Implementation
Our History curriculum has been designed to cover all of the skills, knowledge and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum states that ‘a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.’ To ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on, our History curriculum is organised into a progression model that outlines the skills, knowledge and vocabulary to be taught in a sequentially coherent way.
Chronological Understanding | Historical Understanding | Historical Enquiry |Interpretations of History, Organisation and Communication
The above are all mapped out to ensure that pupils build on secure prior knowledge. When covering each of these strands, the content will be carefully organised by each cohort through a long term plan which is closely monitored by the subject leader. Content knowledge, key questions and progressive vocabulary will then be planned for at a greater level of detail in medium term plans.
History is delivered through subject specific teaching through whole-school cross curriculum themes. The aim of this is to allow for clear progression from EYFS through to Year Six. It also allows us to pull on a common thread throughout the school in a given term and further add to this through whole-school assemblies and other initiatives.
Review | Teach | Practice | Apply
All learning will start by reviewing prior knowledge and establishing prior links. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Within whole class teaching, staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. Children will continue to be engaged and inspired through the delivery of History which allows them to be exposed to a range of real-life experiences, educational visits, historical artefacts as a few examples. Through practice elements of each session, children will look to secure their understanding through high quality teaching from staff as well as lots of in-class discussions. Pupils will then look to apply their historical understanding and apply skills through well thought out, effective and engaging outcome opportunities.
Learning will be supported through the use of knowledge organisers that provide children with scaffolding that supports them to retain new facts and vocabulary in their long term memory. Knowledge organisers are used for pre-teaching, to support home learning and also as a part of daily review. Learning walls in every classroom provide constant historical key vocabulary for children to refer to as well as prior learning reminders. Continuous provision areas in every classroom allow opportunities for pupils to practice and apply their historical understanding and skills. Whole school, fortnightly quizzes will be used to assess understanding and highlight any gaps to be addressed. Learning is reviewed also on a termly basis, after a period of forgetting, so that teachers can check whether information has been retained. History assessment is ongoing throughout the relevant cross-curricular themes to inform teachers with their planning lesson activities and differentiation.
Impact
Our History curriculum is planned so that pupils have a good understanding of historical concepts, knowledge, skills and vocabulary that ensures they achieve age related attainment at the end of each Key Stage. Clear links to prior knowledge and whole-school themes for clear progression will help towards ensuring there is a consistent and systematic approach to the teaching and learning of History at Eythorne Elvington. End of topic “showcase” projects will demonstrate pupils understanding over the course of the term and will be used as a means of celebrating their progress and cementing the skills and knowledge that they have acquired. Termly assessments will take place to track children’s progress against age related expectations for History.