History Coverage

What are the intentions of the school underlying the delivery of this subject?  

At George Carey Primary, a school with a range of diverse backgrounds, we want history to inspire pupils to learn about the world they live in and gain a deep understanding of how history has shaped our society today. We want our curriculum to be representative of the children that we teach, and equip them with the skills and processes necessary to find out more about the recent and distant past which is relevant to them. Children will be immersed in a broad and rich curriculum which will provide them with facts, dates and accounts of the past from primary and secondary sources. To deepen their experience pupils will be provided with artefacts, photographs, oral and written sources. Over their school experience, children will be taught to link historical knowledge with historical processes and explore events with curiosity, build on arguments, weigh evidence and formulate their own ideas.  

This development will be built up throughout their time at George Carey, ensuring that historical skills are taught alongside new knowledge. At George Carey, we are working to ensure conceptual threads are woven into the curriculum, they are revisited, they build the bigger picture in terms of change over time within society and development of knowledge. We want children to recognise causes and consequences of actions and developments over time. 

We want children to make sense of new learning chronologically and where it fits in the bigger picture, not necessarily by teaching the curriculum in chronological order. Having timelines in all classrooms, particularly in KS2 will be central to the children's experience in order to: understand when historical events occurred, be able to compare significant events and eras and be able to have a bigger sense of understanding of world history such as learning about the Benin Kingdom and the first civilisations. These will be an intrinsic part of each topic as they will support children to create links and deepen their understanding of what went before and after. 

Throughout each of our topic we ask four key questions:

1.What are the significant events and who are the influential people?

2.What caused events and what were the consequences?

3.What has changed and what has continued over time?

4.What is similiar and what is different ?

Key skills in History

EYFS

Pupils are introduced to understanding the past through all the areas of their curriculum. Children are introduced to key historical words that they will be introduced to later on in their learning journey. This is done through oral stories, picture books and first hand experiences. 

We focus on understanding history through their world through:

1. Their personal experiences: history of their own life .

2. Past and Present:  Oral history: telling stories of the past.

Key stage 1 

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. 

Key stage 2 

Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

How is History taught in KS1 and KS2?   

History is taught over the three terms in the academic year.  History is taught once a week within these half term blocks, and lessons will follow a sequence and form a journey. Within this sequence, children will recall key aspects of knowledge learnt previously, build on new knowledge, and using historical skills and processes, be able to answer a line of enquiry at the end of the journey. (See long term plan). 

The layout in books will include: 

• A cover page for the unit of work with the key line of enquiry displayed 
• Knowledge splurges recalling previous learning  
• A timeline for period of history being studied – introduced in first lesson. Teachers may wish for children to re-create.  
• Retrieval quiz at the end of a unit 
  
  An enquiry question should be used at the start of the unit to help direct pupils thinking and search for evidence. At the end of the unit it is expected that pupils will answer the line of enquiry weighing up evidence from sources, knowledge learnt and key historical facts (this can be done as a class or independently). 

   

  IMPACT 
  
  SEND and Inclusion 
  
  As in all areas of the curriculum, teachers should deliver ‘quality-first’ teaching and differentiate to support children with barriers to learning. On an individual basis, teachers should consider any limitations that a child has in accessing the planned lesson and provide resources, word banks with visual cues, stem sentences, adapted tasks and adult support. 

With more able and ‘Greater depth’ pupils the use of open-ended questions should be used to promote deeper thinking and promoting pupils to use prior learning to formulate ideas.   

Feedback and Assessment of learning 

It is vital that all pupils are given feedback on the work they have completed.  Immediate feedback is the most valuable as it gives the opportunity to rectify and improve immediately.  Feedback can be marked on the work or given verbally.  Teachers give feedback in conjunction with the ‘Feedback and marking policy’. 

Children are given an end of unit quiz (during week 5 or 6). Teachers are expected to mark and input data for their class, followed by catch up sessions for those children who will benefit from additional support/revision.