At Rockbeare, our goal is for our pupils to develop a sound knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our exciting and broad curriculum has been designed to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and significant aspects of History through questioning and investigation of key concepts throughout history, such as invasion, settlement, achievements and impact on influencing changes in time periods. We want to ensure that learning is engaging and actively promotes an understanding of key historical events through the exploration of skills and knowledge. Teachers plan lessons so that children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and its links to present day. We encourage children to have a fascination about the world and its people, further embedding an understanding of diversity in the ever-changing world.
We intend to inspire all children and tailor our teaching and learning to suit their needs. As well as following a key-stage appropriate progression programme of study, we also plan many opportunities for cross-curricular learning including trips and visitors, maximizing the use of our surroundings and local area. Pupils are expected to take responsibility for leading their own learning, build on prior knowledge and ask questions to apply key skills independently. Key vocabulary for units of study are mapped out and revisited to ensure children understand, use and are confident to use historical language.
We have a 2 year rolling programme of History themes, based on the National Curriculum. The curriculum is designed to build on prior knowledge, provide a high-quality progression of skills from EYFS to Year 6 and it allows the children to successfully make connections with other areas of their learning. Teachers modify teaching approaches to ensure that the curriculum and learning is accessible for all.
Aims in History:
Early Years
Pupils will be taught to:
Talk about members of their immediate family and community.
Enjoy pictures and stories about themselves, their family and other people.
Show interest in the lives of people who are familiar to them and remember and talk about significant events in their own experience.
Key Stage 1
By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will be taught about:
Changes within living memory
Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally
The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods
Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
Key Stage 2
By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will be taught about:
Time periods, including chronological order, and significant events; Romans, Saxons, Scots, Vikings, Mayans, Ancient Greece, Victorians, WW2, Stone Age, Iron Age, Ancient Egypt.
Relevant local history
Assessment monitoring and review:
Pupils will be assessed on their subject knowledge, skills and application, against our planned curriculum, which has overarching curricular goals for each year group that children are expected to achieve.
Attainment judgements will be made against a range of evidence including – written/printed evidence, teacher/pupil discussions, conferencing and self or peer reflections. Teachers ensure prior knowledge and previous learning goals are secure before moving on to new content.
End of unit assessment projects or tasks could be used to assess the acquisition of skills and knowledge against the curricular goals for the unit of work. There will be opportunities for children to demonstrate new learning and learning over time.
At the end of each unit of work, teachers assess children against the curricular goals. Review of Medium Term Plans support teachers to know what areas have been secured and how the attainment of the children impacts on future planning. Subject leaders and senior leaders will have discussions with pupils and teachers, alongside our curriculum plans and evidence of work, to ensure that all essential elements of our curriculum have been delivered.