History

In history, children explore, investigate and answer questions to gain knowledge and understanding of a given topic. They learn about local, national and global events and each topic helps to build upon previous skills and learning.  Children are also given the opportunity to visit and work with local heritage sites to support their learning.

For more information go to our history long term plan to see what we are covering in each year group from Nursery to Year 6.

History Long Term Plan

 National Curriculum History

The National Curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils: 

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world 
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind 
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’ 
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses 
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

History in the Local Area

Local history provides rich opportunities to engage children in their immediate local area and understand their own history and how history contributes to a greater overall understanding and bigger picture. Where appropriate and applicable, children will have many opportunities to develop their historical knowledge of the local area and surrounding areas, through the use of artefacts, being out and about the local area, speaking to local members of the community and public, who can link to our historical learning. 

History in the EYFS

At Early Years Foundation Stage, our curriculum supports children’s History learning by helping them to understand the world around them. Children investigate past and present events in their own lives, focusing on their families and other people that they know.

Children are encouraged to develop a sense of change over time and are given opportunities to observe and differentiate between past and present by observing routines throughout the day, observing the passing of seasons and time and looking at photographs of their life and of others.

Language relating to time is used in daily routines and conversations with children such as: ‘yesterday’, ‘old’, ‘past’, ‘now’ and ‘then’. This vocabulary is developed and built upon throughout KS1 and KS2.

History in KS1 and KS2

In line with our whole school curriculum aims, our history curriculum intends to:

• Develop a coherent knowledge of significant historical individuals and events of Britain’s past and of the wider world;
• Cultivate curiosity, enquiry, perspective and critical thinking skills to equip them to challenge and identify their place within society;
• Develop and deploy an accurate use of vocabulary to evidence historical claims. Children should interpret and debate, make connections and analyse their community and the wider world.

 We have taken the aims and objectives from the National Curriculum programmes of study and used them to create the Catchgate History Curriculum.