History
In the Foundation Stage, children learn about change and chronology through stories and role-play.
We adapt the topics depending on the children’s interests and development of skills.
Key Stage 1 pupils find out about the history of the home, comparing life 150 years ago with the present. They use artefacts and costumes to enhance learning and study famous people from the past, such as Florence Nightingale, Amy Johnson and Sir Robert Hitcham. The children also learn about the history of transport and of toys.
Topics covered in the Key Stage 2 current curriculum include the ancient civilizations of The Maya, Greece and Rome. British history incorporates studying the changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, and the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England.
Local history involves discovering the role that Framlingham Castle played during the Tudor era. Visitors to the school (eg Theatre groups) and educational trips to local historical sites (eg Sutton Hoo) make the children’s learning more relevant and real.
Intent - What do we want children to learn?
At Sir Robert Hitcham’s, our intent is to provide a rich and varied History curriculum that has been designed to inspire in our pupil’s curiosity and fascination about Britain’s past and the wider world. We aspire for our children to develop into active learners who have a passion for History and are equipped with the skills to think and make decisions as historians now and in their futures.
Our History curriculum aims for our children to be inspired, engaged and challenged. We want them to leave our school able to ask perceptive questions, to think critically, to weigh evidence and sift arguments. These skills will enable our learners to develop their perspection and judgement both as historians and global citizens.
The study of History provides equal opportunities for children to develop their knowledge, to be able to begin 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.
Our History curriculum covers all the skills, knowledge and understanding set out in the National Curriculum 2014. The intent of the History curriculum is outlined and detailed in the History Progression document which shows the knowledge and skills taught, and ensures that each of the five history progression strands are taught and assessed yearly. Our curriculum is enriched by exciting and meaningful opportunities to inspire our children to be thoughtful, reflective and curious historians. Through the study of history our intent is to give pupils a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background.
Implementation - How are we going to achieve our intent?
At Sir Robert Hitcham’s our History curriculum is planned in line with the knowledge and skills outlined in the National Curriculum through KS1 and KS2. Our Foundation classes follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. 'Understanding the World' involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. The Foundation Stage use stories and the children’s own past and that of their families to begin to learn about history. In KS1 and KS2, we follow a cross curricular topic approach to our curriculum and throughout the academic year, two or more of the topics will have a large historical content. The topics in KS1 follow a 2 year rolling programme, in KS2 the topics covered follow a 4 year cycle.
Impact - What will it look like when we have achieved our intent?
At Sir Robert Hitcham’s our aim is for our History curriculum to develop independent thinkers, who are excited and inspired by the past and understand that their decisions and actions play a part in shaping the future. By the end of KS2, we want our children to be able to use a wide range of historical sources to ask and answer questions about the past and be able to understand the limitations of different types of resources so that our learners are prepared for the challenges of Key Stage 3.
Our curriculum enables children to develop a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. They will have had opportunities to draw comparisons with the achievements of the earliest civilizations, study the non-European societies of Mayan civilization, Ancient Egypt and the influence of Ancient Greece on the wider world. Children will have an understanding and perspection about our locality and some of the challenges and achievements that have shaped the local area in which we live. We measure the impact of our History curriculum through monitoring work, listening to the children’s attitudes about history through pupil voice, through learning walks/ book scrutiny and termly data analysis.
See our History Posts on the Blog.
Other useful links:
History Resources
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