Intent - Why are we teaching this?
Our history curriculum at Grampound with Creed aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence.
We aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time. History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes. Our curriculum aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries. In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, our scheme aims to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.
Our curriculum enables pupils to meet the end of Key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum and the aims also align with those set out in the National curriculum. For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards the Understanding the world Development matters statements and Early learning goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further history learning in Key stage 1.
Implementation - How is this being taught in the classroom?
At Grampound with Creed, we use KAPOW to teach the key knowledge and skills in History. The Kapow Primary scheme emphasises the importance of historical knowledge being shaped by disciplinary approaches. The strands of topic knowledge, chronological awareness, substantive concepts, historical enquiry and disciplinary concepts are interwoven through all our History units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow the children to investigate history as historians do. Each six-lesson unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place in time of the period they are studying and make comparisons in other parts of the world. In EYFS, children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how individual lives fit into broader historical narratives. Children will further develop their awareness of the past in Key stage 1 and will know where people and events fit chronologically. This will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can refer to throughout their learning in Key stage 2 and identifying connections, contrasts and trends over time. The Kapow Primary timeline supports children in developing this chronological awareness.
Impact - What is the effect?
The impact of our history curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, each unit has a knowledge organiser and end of unit assessment which is used to provide a summative assessment.
Pupils leave Grampound with Creed equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be enquiring learners who ask questions and can make suggestions about where to find the evidence to answer the question. They will be critical and analytical thinkers who are able to make informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past.
The expected impact of our history curriculum is that children will:
● Know and understand the history of Britain, how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
● Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind.
● Develop a historically-grounded understanding ofsubstantive concepts - power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind and society.
● Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.
● Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.
● Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.
● Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.
● Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.
● Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.
● Meet the relevant Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key stage 1 and 2.
We closely assess the impact of our history curriculum through monitoring of outcomes in books to ascertain whether they show the depth of knowledge the children have of the units of work studied. Pupils engage in end of unit checks to monitor whether their new knowledge and skills have been acquired and evidence in topic books show a coherent sequence of planning and progression.
Take a look at how we sequence the knowledge and skills across each year group!
Take a look at an example of a History Knowledge Organiser and how we sequence learning within topics through the use of key questions!