History

Intent 

At Aylesham we believe that the teaching of History gives pupils an understanding of the past through learning about human achievements and experiences, therefore we follow the National Curriculum for History. In this, our aim is to encourage pupils to develop a chronological framework of World and British History. That will allow them to understand the process of change, to see how we arrived ‘here’, and to help make sense of the present. To instil our pupils’ curiosity to become historians, a variety of different sources - pictures, stories, writing and artefacts – are used for children to investigate this. We seek to enrich children's real-life experiences through educational visits, visitors, experimentation, exploration and discovery with each unit of work ending with an authentic outcome. (E.g. A mock Roman battle, A life-sized model of a sarcophagus). Vocabulary will be sourced at the outset and defined clearly so as to allow all pupils to be able to fully comprehend and access their learning journey. As always, our core school values will be seen through the subject. Pupils will be encouraged to demonstrate the school values across the History Curriculum. 

Implementation 

Across the year at Aylesham, our children will study a range of different History topics. These topics are studied in-depth for a seasonal term and each of these terms have a unique focus. Our History curriculum has been designed to cover all of the skills, knowledge and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum states that ‘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.’ To ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on, our History curriculum is organised into a progression model that outlines the skills, knowledge and vocabulary to be taught in a sequentially coherent way. History is delivered through subject specific teaching through whole-school cross curriculum themes.  The aim of this is to allow for clear progression from EYFS through to Year Six. All learning will start by reviewing prior knowledge and establishing prior links. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Within whole class teaching, staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. Children will continue to be engaged and inspired through the delivery of History which allows them to be exposed to a range of real-life experiences, educational visits, historical artefacts as a few examples. Children will look to secure their understanding through high quality teaching from staff as well as lots of in-class discussions.  Pupils will then look to apply their historical understanding and apply skills through well thought out, effective and engaging outcome opportunities. 

Impact

Our History curriculum is planned so that pupils have a good understanding of historical concepts, knowledge, skills and vocabulary that ensures they achieve age related attainment at the end of each Key Stage. Clear links to prior knowledge and a spiral curriculum will help towards ensuring there is a consistent and systematic approach to the teaching and learning of History at Aylesham.  Children will develop a deep understanding of and passion for the past, which will be underpinned by a blend of historical skills and knowledge, and will lay the foundations for historical study at secondary and throughout their lives.