History at St.John's

Vision Statement for History

Subject Vision (Intent, Implementation, Impact): 

At St John’s C of E Primary, it is our intent that we implement our vision of John 10:10 through all areas of school life, including the curriculum.  

“I came that they have life and have it abundantly” John 10:10 

“A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils 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.” – National Curriculum 2014

Intent:

At St John’s, our intent is to give every child a broad and balanced History curriculum so they develop a love and curiosity of history. We aim to enable every child to build a good knowledge and understanding of people and events from a range of historical periods (including significant events in Britain’s past), develop a secure understanding of chronology throughout History, and think critically about history and the sources of information they study.

Implementation:

We have worked to create a comprehensive curriculum cycle, matching the requirements of the National Curriculum. History is taught in half-termly blocks and planning is informed and supported by high-quality resources, such as Plan Bee and Key Stage History. Our curriculum inspires children to ask thought-provoking questions, reflect upon the lessons we can learn from past events, and further embeds our core Christian Values (e.g. tolerance, forgiveness, respect). Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school within a two-year cycle.

In order to support chronological understanding throughout history, a timeline is displayed in each classroom which linked to the periods of history and topics taught throughout their time at St John’s. Our timelines also feature important events within our local history, including links to our school. This is referred to throughout the school, so that children can understand when in history their current topic took place in relation to previous topics covered and future learning.

The promotion of a language rich History curriculum is essential to the successful acquisition of knowledge and understanding in history. The promotion and use of an accurate and rich historical vocabulary throughout school is planned in history and implemented through our use of knowledge organisers, discussions, resources, and questioning.

Impact:

The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at St John’s are equipped with historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and beyond. We want the children to have thoroughly enjoyed learning about history, sparking a lifelong interest and curiosity about the world around them and the influence of the past. Outcomes in books and in discussions with children will evidence a broad and balanced history curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge. The large majority of children will achieve age-related expectations at the end of Key Stage 1 and 2.