History Curriculum

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"We are not makers of History. We are made by History." (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Purpose

We recognise the importance of a high-quality history education, from Early Years to Key Stage 2, that helps children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Children’s curiosity to know more about the past is inspired. As our children progress, they are equipped to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. Through our curriculum, history stops being something that happened in the past and becomes something important to them today. Children are helped 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.

By the time our children leave us at the end of Key Stage 2, the Chalklands History Curriculum ensures they: ● know and understand the history of the United Kingdom as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world

● know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind

● learn, think, read, write and speak like historians, drawing upon the key concepts community and culture, conflict and disaster, explanation and invention, hierarchy and power, cause and consequence, change and continuity, similarity and difference, evidence and interpretation, and significance

● understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses

● have an understanding of the changes between different themes in history and the impact these changes have had on subsequent periods and modern life today

● have gained historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales

● have a sound understanding of chronology and the ability to apply this to a range of historical events

● have a developing sense of curiosity about the past and how and why people interpret the past in different ways

● understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how primary and secondary evidence is interpreted, investigated, and used rigorously to present and make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed

● can confidently discuss a range of issues using their historical understanding to support their opinions

● have knowledge of the historical periods taught and the ability to retrieve information from their history journey

● have contextual knowledge, which supports the development of their historical skills to allow them to independently study and consider other periods of history.