History at Cusgarne
At Cusgarne School we teach history according to the National Curriculum expectations for history at EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
EYFS Expectations:
These are the Early Learning Goals that link most closely to the History National Curriculum:
Understanding the World (People and Communities)
Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.
Understanding the World (The World)
Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.
KS1 Expectations:
Pupils should be taught about:
- changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life;
- events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries;
- 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 [for example Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell;
- significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.
KS2 Expectations:
Pupils should be taught about:
- changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age;
- the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain;
- Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots;
- the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor;
- a local history study;
- a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066;
- the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China;
- Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world;
- a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.
Please refer to our curriculum progression map below, which comprehensively shows the progression of historical knowledge, skills and concepts for the children from year 1 to year 6.
Intent
At Cusgarne School we offer a coherently planned whole school curriculum based on the Twinkl Planit scheme of work for history. Within this, each topic is taught to the children through a sequence of lessons, ensuring all learning is progressive and covers the skills and concepts required in the National Curriculum. We aim to develop historical skills and concepts which are transferable to whatever period of history is being studied and will equip children for future learning. These key historical skills and concepts, which are revisited throughout each topic, are: Historical Interpretations; Historical Investigations; Chronological Understanding; Knowledge and Understanding of Events, People and Changes in the Past; Presenting, Organising and Communicating.
The coverage of recent history in KS1, such as ‘Toys’ and ‘Travel and Transport,’ enables children to acquire an understanding of time, events and people in their memory and their parents’ and grandparents’ memories. For KS1, our curriculum allows a full opportunity for children to really grasp the difficult concept of the passing of time.
The intent in lower KS2 is that children can work in chronological order from ancient history such as ‘Ancient Egypt’ and then progress onto more modern history such as ‘The Railways’.
Upper KS2 allows children to repeat and embed this sequence of chronology with a wider selection of ancient history such as ‘Early Islamic Civilisations’ and ‘Stone Age’ through to more modern history such as ‘World War II’ and ‘Leisure and Entertainment’. The repeat in KS2 of chronological order from ancient to modern allows for children to truly develop and embed a sense of time and how civilisations were interconnected. Children start to understand how some historical events occurred concurrently in different locations, e.g. Ancient Egypt and the Stone Age.
Implementation
In order for children to know more and remember more in each area of history studied, there is a structure to our lesson sequence whereby prior learning is always considered and opportunities for revision of facts and historical understanding are built into our lessons. This allows for revision to become part of our good practice and ultimately helps build a depth to our children’s historical understanding. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, each lesson helps children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenge. The revision and introduction of key vocabulary is built into each lesson. This vocabulary is displayed in the classrooms which, alongside the materials and additional resources used, ensures that children are allowed opportunities to repeat and revise this knowledge. During each term history is, wherever possible and appropriate, linked to other areas of the curriculum. This includes English so that extended writing opportunities are given.
Through our history lessons at Cusgarne, we intend to inspire pupils and practitioners to develop a love of history and see how it has shaped the world they live in.
Impact
The impact of using the full range of resources, including display materials, is seen across the school with an increase in the profile of history. The learning environment across the school is consistent with historical technical vocabulary displayed, spoken and used by all learners. Whole-school and parental engagement is improved through the use of some history-specific home learning tasks throughout the year, and opportunities for wider learning based on local history are used whenever possible to make learning more meaningful to the children. We want to ensure that history is loved by teachers and pupils across school, by encouraging them to want to continue building on the wealth of historical knowledge and understanding, now and in the future. Impact is measured through key questioning skills built into lessons, child-led assessment such as success criteria grids, and summative assessments aimed at targeting next steps in learning.
