History

Curriculum Intent

At Perrymount, our history curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.  Our fully inclusive chronological framework provides our children with challenging lessons carefully sequenced to ensure learning is revisited, deepened and used as a platform to acquire new learning and apply critical thinking. We aim to bring History to life through knowledge centred activities designed to inspire and ignite children’s curiosity to learn more about their past and to think and act like historians. 

Within our curriculum, the explicit teaching of historical vocabulary is frequently revisited to make lesson memorable, relevant and fixed in the children’s memory.  Embedded historical vocabulary helps children to transfer knowledge, understand and make sense of what they have learned and deepen their historical understanding of a variety of sources used to investigate past influences and the shifting perceptions of our world, country, culture and local community.  We want our children to be equipped to recognise and avoid stereotyping and bias and question and challenge perceptions of the past thus, allowing them to think critically and develop perspective and judgement.

Our history curriculum aims to celebrate and give children the cultural and social capital they need understand the world they are growing up.  We want pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. An awareness of the individual needs of pupils in a class means that all children including those disadvantaged or children with SEND or EAL are able to develop their historical knowledge, applying what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence.  We endeavour for children to recognise that what they learn in history, combined with our school values and PHSE teachings, should have the ability to influence their decisions, personal choices and attitudes. 

Curriculum Implementation

History is taught throughout the year so that children achieve a secure knowledge of chronology in their learning, skills and concepts are revisited and learning retained.  This enables children to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. Lessons are carefully planned in terms of progression, depth, appropriate historical skills, knowledge and understanding suited to each age group     

Knowledge organisers are produced which outline the progressive and sequential knowledge (including rich vocabulary) all children must master and apply during each block of lessons so to ensure previous learning is revisited and new learning is retained.

Planning and delivery ensures:

• Where appropriate, links with other areas of the curriculum are used to provide a more meaningful, enhanced learning experience.
• Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and theses are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. 
• A ‘hook’ is created at the start of the topic so to create a learning buzz.
• Lesson starters include ‘sticky knowledge quizzes’ so to support learners’ ability to retain information.
• Moral Challenge questions enable pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner.
• Where possible, arranging field trips and visiting experts to enhance the learning experience.
• Children work independently, in table groups, peer support or with 1:1 adult support given where required.
• A range of equipment and resources are available to ensure success for all pupils.
• Teacher assessment to quickly identify any child who requires additional support in specific skills.