Intent

Helmdon Primary School follows the expectations of the National curriculum and ensures that there is provision of a high-quality History education for all children. 

Our aim is that, through the teaching of History, we stimulate all children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past.

We teach children a sense of chronology, in order to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. This enables our children to learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. We aim to make children aware of the actions of important people in history and enable them to learn about significant events in British history, whilst appreciating how things have changed over time. History will also ensure our children understand how Britain developed as a society. Our children will learn about aspects of local and Ancient history. This wider awareness leads to the children having some knowledge of historical development in the wider world.

We believe that by allowing the children to understand the importance and enjoyment of History through different opportunities, they will become enthused learners. Our children should develop key skills including perceptive questioning, thinking critically, weighing up evidence, putting forward arguments and developing perspective and judgement. 

In addition, our key themes for History are:

Legacy – What has been handed down from one period of time to another period of time? What evidence remains of other civilisations and historical events? How do these civilisations or historical events still influence our lives today?

Society – How did the people of the time live their lives?

Implementation

We alternate our Geography and History topics ensuring that our children receive a well-rounded teaching of the humanities subjects throughout the year.

History is sequenced across the school to ensure that the National Curriculum is thoroughly covered. The sequencing of learning year on year builds on the pupils’ knowledge, reinforcing what they have already learnt and building on this. History is taught as a discreet subject however, where possible, links are made to other areas of the curriculum that may deepen or extend learning and enrich understanding.

The school has implemented a rich History curriculum, which enables pupils to achieve by;

• Ensuring there are clear learning outcomes for all subjects allowing for progression, challenge and reinforcement of key knowledge and skills.
• Inspiring pupils to want to learn more and to enjoy learning through enrichment activities and creative outcomes that are relevant our children and engage them in the learning process.
• Promoting effective learning habits including perseverance, teamwork, creativity, empathy and reflectiveness

Impact

At Helmdon Primary School the children are confident and able to talk about what they have learnt in history using subject specific vocabulary. They are able to share their enjoyment of history and are able to recall their learning over time. The progression in Learning for Key Stage 1 and 2 is outlined in our History Progression document. Learning is regularly revisited in class - each lesson starts with a 'flashback' session, with reference made to learning in previous weeks, terms, years and key stages. When teachers start new units, they recap on prior learning and use our threads to deepen children’s understanding and knowledge of History. Children’s work demonstrates that history is taught at an age appropriate standard across each year group. Their work demonstrates that they are acquiring knowledge, skills and vocabulary in an appropriate sequence.