St Paul's C of E Primary School
Purpose of study
In History we aim to stimulate the children’s curiosity to know more of Britain’s past as well as that of the wider world. Thus pupils learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain and by considering how people lived in the past, they are encouraged to make their own life choices today. Children are given the opportunity to evaluate historical sources, are taught about their reliability and are encouraged to detect any bias. We teach children to think critically, weigh evidence and understand how events in the past have influenced our lives today; we also teach them to investigate these past events and by doing so to develop skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem solving.
At St Paul’s CE Primary School we aim to ensure that all pupils:
• strengthen their personal identity by learning about the historical development of Britain and the wider world;
• develop and strengthen their interest and curiosity by developing an informed appreciation of the past;
• recognise how the past influences present day societies through historical concepts;
• develop and extend their knowledge and understand and use appropriate vocabulary;
• have the opportunity to investigate the lives of ordinary people in history as well as famous figures;
• develop an ability to select and use a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, considering their reliability;
• recognise the difference between historical facts and opinion;
• develop confidence when discussing and formulating their own opinions and understand that other people have different points of view;
• have the opportunity to broaden their experience of history learning through trips and visitors.
St Paul’s follows the Programme of Study for History as set out in the National Curriculum and we aim for children to:
• develop skills relating to chronological understanding and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world;
• develop knowledge and understanding of historical concepts and use them to make connections, interpretations and develop perspective and judgement;
• develop an understanding of historical enquiry and critical thinking;
• develop the knowledge of organising and communicating historical information and vocabulary to describe the periods studied.
These learning opportunities are part of the National Curriculum 2014 guidelines set out for History and are implemented throughout the school’s year groups. Classes use a thematic approach taken from the National Curriculum’s Programme of Study. Thematic approaches are set out in two-year cycles which have been drawn up by staff and are carefully balanced to ensure extension and consolidation of skills. In this way, history can make a valuable contribution to other curriculum subjects, including using computing to enhance children’s skills in data handling, presenting written work and researching historical information.
Reception teaching and learning of History is implemented through the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, in particular, ‘Understanding the World’, where children are given the opportunity to enquire, develop and understand the appropriate skills necessary for history by exploring ‘People and Communities’, ‘The World’ and ‘Technology’.
Children build on basic skills and themes and use them in different contexts to reinforce and consolidate previous experiences. We ensure careful progression from KS1 to KS2. The history co-ordinator keeps samples of the children’s work in a portfolio in order to demonstrate the expected level of achievement for each age group.
Assessment for learning is a part of the normal planning, teaching and learning cycle. The learning outcomes in each topic show how children can demonstrate what they have learnt. The work the children do themselves will serve as a record for each topic of history. In St Paul’s school, assessments in history are completed termly and are based on the topics set out in the two-year cycle. In this way, teachers and the history co-ordinator can evaluate the standards and achievements in history against the end of Key Stage level descriptions as set out in the National Curriculum 2014.