A clear list of breadth of topics that will be covered.

This includes the areas of history that we cover.  At the Infant School, the children have progressed from history being rooted in the children’s everyday experiences in the EYFS to looking at famous people, such as Emmeline Pankhurst and historical events, for example, The Great Fire of London, in KS1. 

At the Junior School, we build on this.  In KS2 (Year 3-6), they look at periods of history, for example, The Roman Empire in Year 3 and the First World War in Year 6.

The road map gives you a really good overview of our topics from nursery to Year 6.

For each topic, we have a set of pupil knowledge organisers that outline the knowledge that the children will learn about in that topic. 

The ‘threshold concepts’ are what pupils should understand.  In history, these are returned to again and again across all year groups, they are what develops us as historians.  These include:

•             Investigating the past and interpreting evidence

•             Develop and overview of world history

•             Understanding chronology

•             Communicate historical information

This returning to the same thing again and again is called interleaving.

The detailed progression can be found in the document below. 

How do we ensure all children can access history lessons?

Effective quality first teaching is the key to enabling all children to participate and develop their historical knowledge and skills. Differentiation within lessons is a vital component to ensure that a balance of support and challenge are achieved for all abilities. This is the same in every subject and differentiation is adjusted as expectations of individual pupils rise through progress. Challenge and support specific to history may include; varying the types of sources and artefacts used, looking at a selection of opposing interpretations from the time, first hand experiences, some pre-teaching as well as using more advanced vocabulary or providing picture clues and definitions for those needing more support.

Pupils not secure within a lesson sequence are noted and adjustments made to the differentiation or level of support given. (Similarly, added challenge is given if pupils are identified as requiring it.) Mini plenaries throughout lessons help to identify these children. This may be noted by the teacher through questioning or the use of written work.

Impact - How Do We Help Children Get to a Deep Level of Understanding?

Through the explicit teaching of the History skills, both the teachers and the pupils assess their learning continuously throughout the lesson. To help children get to a deep level of understanding we use quizzes and knowledge maps that we return to again and again. The pupil knowledge organisers set out the basic knowledge that we want children to know at  the end of each topic. They also include quizzes to assess children's knowledge. 

Children develop each threshold concept over time and it takes a two-year period to get to a deeper level of understanding at the appropriate age, this is linked into an age appropriate 'milestone' - lower KS2 (Year 3 and 4) and upper KS2 (Year 5 and 6).  For example, in years three and five, children will have a basic understanding of chronology at an age appropriate level, but by revisiting this they should have a deeper level of understanding by year four and year six.  Summative assessments are carried out towards the end of each year.

We capture the pupils' thoughts about history by asking them questions, such as:

•       What does history make you think of?

•       What periods of history have you learnt about at school?

•       What is chronology?

•       Can you name any sources of evidence you have used or could use?

•       How do you get better at history?

•       What skills do you need as an historian?

•       How can we learn from the past?