The teaching and learning of history is organised through thematic units in KS1 and chronologically organised units in KS2, ranging from the Stone Age and Ancient Egyptians to the World Wars and the Human Rights movement. If a child is part of a mixed year class, they will cover all the appropriate units for their age groups across the two years. History inspires pupils’ curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. Pupils consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. As they do this, pupils develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. In history, pupils find evidence, weigh it up and reach their own conclusions.

Curriculum Statement for History

Intent

Teaching History at St. Laurence is centred on sparking children’s interest in a wide range of historical periods and peoples, giving them a fascinating insight into the history of Britain, as well as famous and influential periods and peoples across the entire world. Through this engaging process, children can become familiar with their own local and national heritage, as well as understand and appreciate diverse cultures across the world. In doing so, we have the ambition to teach children a range of transferable skills from historical enquiry, such as constructing chronology, scrutinising evidence and balancing arguments, laying the foundation for them to become increasingly critical thinkers. We aspire to really bring History to life both inside the classroom and out of it, utilising I.C.T to view physical artefacts and conduct research, as well as planning exciting trips to historical monuments and museums or inviting distinguished visitors into school. Ultimately, we aim to ignite a passion for History which they can carry into their secondary education and beyond!

Implementation

History at St. Laurence is taught throughout the year, enabling children to progress their knowledge and skills in History each and every year through focused and dynamic units of study. This has been mapped out each year to ensure children benefit from a comprehensive and wide-ranging catalogue of units throughout their learning journey at St. Laurence. Through this robust and inspiring process, children will become familiar with a wide range of historical period and peoples, including the Ancient Greeks, the Vikings and the Tudors (to name but a few!). It is also through these topics that we can offer the enriching experiences of expert visitors or school trips, including visits to the Fitzwilliam Museum or the Imperial War Museum in Duxford!

Impact

Through the immersion and learning of these historical topics, children will steadily build up their skills in historical enquiry year-on-year. They will learn, for example, how to order chronologically, to recognise primary and secondary sources, to judge the reliability of sources and to balance out arguments. Children will clearly demonstrate their progression through each unit with a summative assessment task, including multiple choice quizzes and extended writing tasks. As children leave us after Year 6, we hope they leave as confident and assured historians, aware of the diversity of world history and their place within it, as well as being imbued with a long-lasting fascination in continuing learning and investigating.