History is the understanding of how and why some things happened in the past
A Historian is a person who studies and writes about the past using a range of sources to inform their learning.
The policy is written with consideration to our school commitment to the Rights of the Child and our achievement of being a Rights Respecting School. It complies with Article 28 of the UNCRC ‘Every child has the right to an education’ as well as Article 29 ‘Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.’ Although direct reference to this is not continuously made, the policy has been written with full awareness of our responsibility and commitment to children’s rights.
The aim of history teaching at Lady Margaret Primary School, is to stimulate the children’s interest, curiosity and understanding about the past. Through the curriculum, pupils will gain a knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We teach children a sense of chronology and through this develop a sense of identity and an awareness of the challenges of their time. Teaching should equip children to ask questions, think critically, weigh evidence and develop perspective and judgement. History teaching should help pupils to understand the complexity of pupil’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and the relationship between different groups.
At Lady Margaret Primary School, each unit of work is linked to the four key themes across the school: Legacy, morality, power and sustainability. By linking each unit of history to the four key themes, the children are posed questions about how they can make a change individually, as a class or as a school. In effect, children are able to use the themes to reflect back on and recall previously taught units in earlier years. If a theme applies to the lesson, a slide should be dedicated to this in the introduction. In KS2, pupils demonstrate their historical knowledge and understanding linked to the four school themes.
The units studied across this year can be found in the history overview which is located on the staff shared drive and is accessible to all. Each unit comes with its own knowledge map which states the key skills children will be covering, key vocabulary, alongside the sticky knowledge children should have by the end of the topic and exciting book links. History units studied across the school are linked clearly with the national curriculum and then assigned to a year group based on their high-quality core text and relevance to the children. Detailed prior knowledge is featured on each MTP which clearly denotes previous skills and learning that the children can recall and bring to the current studied topic.
Children will begin to learn about History through Understanding of the World (People and Communities) this will also link to Communication and Language.
Understanding the World, involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. By the end of EYFS children will be able to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They will be able to use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future.
The National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 focuses on developing children’s 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. Children should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about nthe past and identify different ways in which it is represented. In planning to ensure the progression described above, through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers may introduce pupils to historical periods that they will study more fully at Key Stage 2.
Pupils should be taught about:
The National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 should continue to allow children 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 Meaningful Learning opportunities and strong Motivation leads to rapid Progress and high levels of Success Legacy Morality Power Sustainability 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. Children should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
Pupils should be taught about:
In history, teachers must ensure all children have access to appropriate materials and resources in order to access their learning effectively. Where differentiation is by task, it is based on the children’s ability to learn new information and apply it. The history leader liaises closely with the SENco (Special Needs Co-ordinator), to ensure that all our children have appropriate access to history, including provision of special resources or equipment where necessary. This also applies for pupils who are new to English.
The History leader will oversee planning and monitor pupil’s work. Throughout each unit, the sticky knowledge and understanding will be assessed by the class teacher. In history lessons, children are shown a success criteria which clearly outlines what they must do in order to be a successful learner within that lesson. Children will be assessed through a range of formative and summative assessments. For example: targeted questioning, specific individual feedback and verbal responses. In KS2 students become more independent in their learning, taking part in peer assessment and self-assessment. Summative assessments (e.g. end of unit presentation) are also used formatively to help them improve. The children will have an end of topic showcase as well as a tailored made quiz to help inform the teacher’s judgement about the child’s retention of sticky knowledge and key learning elements of the unit of work.
The history leader leads the maintenance and development of the subject. They are responsible for assuring quality and standards in the subject by:
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Last reviewed:
May 2022