History Curriculum Intent Statement
Aims
The National Curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:
- know and understand the history of these islands 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
- gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
- 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
- understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
- gain 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
Intent
At Mylor Bridge School, and with our focus on the four Rs of resilience, resourcefulness, reflection and relationships, we strive for individuals to be curious and have a good understanding of the society in which they live but also that of the wider world. The children will learn about history discreetly but also when it naturally links with other subjects such as English, Science or Art. The children will gain skills not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of local and educational visits.
We intend that the children work as historians where they will shape their thinking by developing disciplinary knowledge (Understanding chronology, building an overview of world history, investigating and interpreting the past and communicating historically). This disciplinary knowledge is progressive; students will gradually increase their understanding through a breadth of different contexts. Through different studies and with disciplinary knowledge threading through, the children will gain substantive knowledge. Each unit of work will start with a knowledge organiser, which will include key vocabulary. Through the key stages, it is our intent that children understand more by making connections with carefully planned golden threads (Invasion and battles; culture, society and way of life; achievements and legacy; rulers, leaders and monarchs) that run through our curriculum.
Through the delivery of our history curriculum, it is our intent that children will:
Have an excellent knowledge and understanding of people, events, and contexts from a range of historical periods and of historical concepts and processes.
- Have an understanding of how to chart the passing of time (chronology) and how some aspects of history studied were happening at similar times in different places.
- Have the ability to think critically about history and communicate ideas very confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.
- Have the ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.
- Have the ability to THREADD: think, hypothesise, research, evaluate, ask, debate and discuss the past, formulating and refining questions and lines of enquiry.
- Have a passion for history and an enthusiastic engagement in learning, which develops their sense of curiosity about the past and their understanding of how and why people interpret the past in different ways.
- Have a respect for historical evidence and the ability to make robust and critical use of it to support their explanations and judgments.
- Have a desire to embrace challenging activities, including opportunities to undertake high-quality research across a range of history topics.
Our Vision
By the end of year 6, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. They will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. Interlinked with this are studies of world history, such as the ancient civilisations of Greece, the Maya and the Egyptians. We believe that local history is equally important. This is why it is woven into our curriculum to ensure it is explicitly taught and a rich understanding of our local heritage is developed. The local area is fully utilised to achieve these desired outcomes, with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice.
