Curriculum Intent

Our History curriculum is designed to ignite children’s curiosity about the past. We are determined that, alongside historical knowledge, there will be a high focus on the development of specific historical skills to ensure children know more and remember more. The history skills and knowledge is then built upon each year, with a clear path of progression through the school. 

The teaching of history in our school is intended to equip pupils to ask questions about the past, analyse evidence, think critically, appreciate different perspectives and develop informed judgements through our 'Engage', 'Develop', 'Innovate' and 'Express' planning sequence. 

History is delivered within projects. We immerse the children into a theme by exploiting cross curricular links, links with British values and our school values. Teachers make it explicit to the children what history skills and knowledge they are learning and encourage them to think like ‘historians’ through an enquiry led teaching approach.

Curriculum Implementation

Our History curriculum covers the skills outlined in the National Curriculum through broad, challenging and inspiring projects. Progression is planned in knowledge, skills and vocabulary so that pupils, by the end of year 6, have the ability to be successful in History in their secondary school. Lessons carefully build on prior learning so that children can make sense of the subject. Progression allows for sensible cross curricular links to be made. 

Medium term plans ensure that both the required knowledge, and the history specific skills, are fully covered. Sessions are planned to inspire, engage and challenge pupils in response to their needs. Children are given a wide variety of experiences both in the classroom and out. We encourage school visits and visitors into school to enable the children to gain memorable experiences to support their learning through enhanced provision.

Within lessons, pupils are encouraged to think like historians and develop their skills including historical enquiry. There is a strong emphasis on developing children’s other skills such as understanding of chronology, interpretations of evidence, changes within a time and across time periods as well as cause and consequence.

Curriculum Impact

History is assessed through teacher judgement and monitored by the subject leader. Progression grids, and pupil voice, supports teachers in making accurate judgements of what the children know. Pre-assessment tasks, that are continually added to show progression and value added, as well as assessment bubbles are used to make a judgement about each child’s attainment.  This is then reported to parents within each child's end of year report. 

History is monitored, throughout all year groups, using a variety of strategies such as book scrutinises, lesson observations, staff discussions and pupil interviews.  Feedback is given to teachers and leaders use the information to ensure children are making progress.

Pre-Assessment Examples:

Assessment Bubble Examples:

Further Information

Environment:

At Bitterne Manor Primary School, we believe that a well organised and stimulating environment has a direct impact on the quality of teaching and learning, and therefore supports raising standards. It enables pupils to develop independence as learners and build upon skills.

Classroom environments both support and enrich the learning of all children. As well as being vibrant and welcoming, the classroom environment is a learning resource, the second teacher, a way of engaging children and building the class community. It can create a sense of ownership and be used to support and promote learning, as well as celebrating children’s work. 

Our classroom environments are used as an interactive resource supporting teaching, learning and assessment. We have:

• Learning walls specific to history projects (cross -curricular) are used in lessons to highlight key knowledge and vocabulary.
• Time lines within the classroom to refer back to previous learning and develop chronological understanding and order of events.
• Both fiction and non-fiction texts are used to develop children’s historical understanding and links to our book-led curriculum.
• Books are displayed under working walls for children to access and a range of non-fiction texts are available in reading areas.

Enhancements:

Our curriculum is enhanced with resources from Hampshire History Centre, who provide historical artefacts, as well as, teaching resources and information to enrich History. Visits and visitors are planned to enhance children’s understanding and knowledge of the theme. For example, Year 4 visit Highclere castle when studying Ancient Egyptians and Year 3 go to Butser Farm when looking at the Stone Age.   Additionally, local walks are planned, where appropriate, in order to link their historical learning to changes within their own local area.

To further support and enhance the curriculum, higher engagement days and memorable experiences are planned in. This is something that gets the children fully engaged in a topic. It could be something that the children take part in creating, like an immersive display, such as building a rainforest scene in the classroom before teaching a unit of work about the rainforest: playing rainforest sounds, placing giant potted plants around and creating more trees out of card and paper. It could be a secret, prepared by the teacher beforehand. Or, an immersive day where everyone dresses up and engages in activities linked to the topic.

Why do we use higher engagement days and memorable experiences?

“When students are engaged and motivated and feel minimal stress, information flows freely…and they achieve higher levels of cognition, make connections, and experience “aha” moments. Such learning comes not from quiet classrooms and directed lectures, but from classrooms with an atmosphere of exuberant discovery (Feel-Bad Education in Education Week, Kohn, 2004).

A memorable experience has supreme power in engaging students, capturing their imagination and maximising learning. It is an opportunity to inject energy into a new learning journey and to create an eagerness to find out more. Think of a rocket launch analogy – in order to reach the moon, an effective and impressive take off is critical.

The reason they work so well is because they frame thinking, focus on the concept at hand and give learning objectives context. Additionally, it can make connections between existing knowledge and future learning.