Intent

The intention of the History Curriculum at Hindley Junior and Infant Primary School is to inspire children’s curiosity, fascination and understanding about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our teaching equips children with knowledge about the history of Britain and how it has influenced and been influenced by the wider world; know and understand about significant aspects of history of the wider world like ancient civilisations and empires; changes in living memory and beyond living memory; learn about the lives of significant people of the past; understand the methods of historical enquiry and be able to ask and answer questions. We want children to enjoy and love learning about history by gaining this knowledge and these skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of the local area and educational visits.

Implementation

In Reception, early history skills are taught through the ‘Understanding the World – Past and Present’ area of learning. Through our themed approaches in the Reception Year, children will look at similarities and differences between the past and present, drawing on their own experiences where possible and in the lives of people around them. Children will understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books and through storytelling.
In Key Stage One and Two, to ensure high standards in teaching and learning in History, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Each class from Y1-Y5 has three History topics which are covered over the year, Y6 has two. Each year group builds upon and further develops prior knowledge, skills and understanding. History is taught as a stand-alone subject. Teachers create Learning Pathways for each topic using our Knowledge Organisers and our History Skills progression document based upon the National Curriculum. This ensures coverage of and progression in the programmes of study requirements in History for KS1 and KS2.
Our Long Term Plan, Knowledge Organisers and History Skills progression ensures that the children in each year group have a good understanding of:
• Chronological understanding
• Historical enquiry skills
• Historical interpretation
• Continuity and change
• Cause and consequence
• Similarity and difference within a period/situation (diversity)
• Significance of events/people
We encourage and arrange visits to the school by outside agencies and visits to historical sites and museums. These experiences are used to fully immerse children into their learning and to support the teaching and learning within a specific history topic. Where possible we use artefacts for children to explore and investigate. We believe that handling real objects enhances the children’s historical knowledge and understanding.

Impact

The intended impact of our History Curriculum is for the majority of children in each year group to meet or exceed the expected standards for their age. In addition, we aim to achieve the following outcomes:
• Children will develop critical and analytical thinking skills, making informed and balanced judgments based on their understanding of historical events.
• Students will gain a deeper awareness of how historical events have shaped the world they live in today.
• They will expand their knowledge of local and small-scale history, building a stronger connection to their community and environment.
• Children will enhance their enquiry skills, allowing them to pursue their own interests and ask thoughtful questions within historical topics.
• Where appropriate, children will participate in enriching visits and interact with visitors to further appreciate the impact of history.
• Students will retain prior learning and make clear connections between what they have previously studied and new knowledge.
To track and measure the impact of History teaching, we use Insight, our online assessment tool that aligns directly with our curriculum. This allows teachers to instantly monitor how individual classes or year groups are performing against our curriculum targets, helping to identify and address any gaps in learning. In addition to Insight, the subject leader conducts informal learning walks and pupil interviews, alongside reviewing children’s work, to ensure that learning objectives are met and knowledge can be recalled when prompted. These assessments show that pupils are not only engaged and excited about History but also able to retain and apply what they’ve learned, demonstrating the effectiveness of our curriculum