History

We are Historians

INTENT

At Haydonleigh, we provide a high-quality history curriculum that has been carefully designed and sequenced to equip our children with a secure, coherent knowledge about local, British and world history.

Our history curriculum promotes curiosity and a love for learning about the past. Curriculum content is knowledge, vocabulary and experience rich.

The units of work are delivered in a sequenced order, allowing children to develop their understanding of chronology, substantive concepts and historical skills as they move through the school. Children will understand how the past has helped shaped our lives today and how it may shape the future.

The history of our locality is woven into our history curriculum. It endeavours to ensure children are knowledgeable about their local history and the changes it has seen over time.

Children are encouraged to ask and explore historically valid questions and present their findings by drawing on skills from across the curriculum. They will regularly use primary and secondary sources of evidence to reconstruct the past and use these to think critically.

Alongside the development of substantive knowledge, children will develop their historical skills as they learn the fundamental elements of what it is to be a historian. They will understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference and significance and use them to make connections between different times.

Children will study a range of cultures and historical perspectives, enabling them to be respectful, tolerant and empathetic.

Through their acquisition of knowledge, historical skills and vocabulary built on from Foundation Stage to Year 6, children will leave Haydonleigh as confident historians, knowledgeable about key people, events and time periods from the past and they will weave these together to create informed, historical narratives from the earliest times to the present day.

IMPLEMENTATION

History at Haydonleigh is taught through topics in blocks throughout the year. The history topics are informed by the National Curriculum 2014 and the context of the local area.

The provision of history is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to previous learning and that skills are developed and progressive. Each topic is underpinned by rich, substantive knowledge and ambitious vocabulary, whilst also ensuring children are developing their historical skills. Each lesson children will answer a historically framed question.

Each history unit has a knowledge organiser which is used by teachers and children to ensure knowledge, vocabulary and skills are revisited regularly to ensure our children know and remember more.

The planning of History lessons is informed by and aligned with the National Curriculum and is used alongside a progression of knowledge document that ensures parity, progression and development of the historical skills needed to be taught from EYFS to Year 6  

At Haydonleigh, we make full use of resources within the immediate and wider local area to enable children the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the rich history of their locality.

Children will also have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills through a wide variety of learning experiences such as museum visits, local area walks, handling artefacts and school trips to see real life historical sites.

We have identified a set of key substantive concepts that the children will repeatedly revisit throughout their time at Haydonleigh. These concepts are: civilisation, homes, food, children, communication, innovation and legacy.

IMPACT

Through their acquisition of knowledge, historical skills and vocabulary built from Foundation Stage to Year 6, children will leave Haydonleigh as confident historians, knowledgeable about key people, events and time periods from the past. They will weave these together to create informed, historical narratives from the earliest times to the present day.

History books will show that children understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference and significance and children will be able to articulate the connections they have made between different times.

History coverage across the school - click here

History Roadmap - click here

History Knowledge Organisers - click on the table below to view