History

Intent

At St. John’s, we believe that, through the study of History, children make sense of their world and enrich their understanding of it. Our History curriculum aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. We aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time.

Our teaching of History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History at St. John’s will allow our children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting them to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.

Throughout their time at St. John’s, pupils will build their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We aim to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries. In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, children are introduced to the key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.

Implementation

Specified History units will be taught three times per academic year in Terms 1, 3 and 5. This will happen in each class according to the unit stated on the curriculum map which follows a two-year rolling programme. Within each unit, the children will be introduced to the unit overview in order to understand what the unit will involve and to become familiar with the vocabulary that will be used throughout the unit. This will then encourage links to be made with previous learning, e.g. which vocabulary has been met before, links made to previous learning, what new learning will this lead on to during the unit in order to help the children to know more and remember more.

Our teaching of historical knowledge is through substantive knowledge strands – topic knowledge, chronological awareness and substantive concepts in addition to disciplinary strands – historical enquiry and disciplinary concepts. These strands are interwoven through all our History units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow the children to investigate history as historians do.

Each unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place in time of the period they are studying and make comparisons in other parts of the world. In EYFS, children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how individual lives fit into broader historical narratives. Children will further develop their awareness of the past in Key stage 1 and will know where people and events fit chronologically. This will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can refer to throughout their learning in Key stage 2 and identifying connections, contrasts and trends over time.

Over the course of their learning, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:

• Change and continuity.

• Cause and consequence.

• Similarities and differences.

• Historical significance.

• Historical interpretations.

• Sources of evidence.

The children will be encouraged to talk like historians using the vocabulary linked to the current unit and previous vocabulary that they have learned within the context of History. Unit-specific vocabulary will be displayed in the classroom during the teaching of each unit. The display will include a ‘History’ heading and the title of the current unit. When the children are being taught History, it will be made explicit that this is the subject that they are doing.

These concepts will be encountered in different contexts during the study of local, British and world history. Accordingly, children will have varied opportunities to learn how historians use these skills to analyse the past and make judgements. They will confidently develop and use their own historical skill set. As children progress, they will create their own historical enquiries to study using sources and the skills they have developed.

Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, are introduced in Key stage 1, clearly identified in Lower key stage 2 and revisited in Upper key stage 2 allowing knowledge of these key concepts to grow. These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are crucial to their future learning in History.

Lessons are engaging and hands-on, allowing children to experience the different aspects of an historical enquiry. In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider world. Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied.

Impact

Children at St. John’s will be able to:

• Know and understand the history of Britain, how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind.
• Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts - power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind and society.
• Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.
• Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.
• Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.
• Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.
• Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.
• Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.
•  Meet the relevant Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key stage 1 and 2.