Our History Curriculum is an action-packed expedition full of celebrations, civilisations and changes through time. Delicately uncover who we are today by understanding how the people of the past shaped our journeys. Will you be influenced, by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Vikings or Saxons? Or enthralled, by those momentous historical battles and achievements? Or reflective, as we honour those traditions that make us the society we strive to be?

History Curriculum Intent

Pennine Way Primary School understands the importance of developing pupil understanding of the past, how things have changed and how this has impacted upon their lives. We want our pupils to think like Historians and explore their learning in a fun and practical way.

In EYFS our intention is to enable children to understand the world around them through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

In Key Stage One our intention is to enable children to acquire knowledge of chronological time and of events and people in recent memory and to experience the achievements of people and events from beyond living memory. The aim for our pupils is to handle artefacts, listen to first-hand evidence and testimony and to watch video clips to gather information together about the past.

In Key Stage Two our intention is to enable children to follow studies in chronological order so that they can develop a sense of time and how civilisations were inter-connected. The aim of our curriculum is to build pupils’ knowledge of time, chronology and how people lived while historical skills and concepts are built up progressively across the key stage.

History Curriculum Implementation

The History Curriculum is set out in a series of reasoned studies. Each study begins with the introduction of a Knowledge Organiser which gives an overview of the key events, key people, key vocabulary and their position within a historical timeline. The knowledge organiser will run alongside the progression of key skills such as: Comparing past with the present, ordering of events, devising historically valid questions about change and constructing knowledge from a range of sources.

Each sequenced step within the study may have an individual Knowledge Note that plays a supporting role that offers key questions to interpret, key vocabulary to comprehend, and challenges to further develop the skills, knowledge and historical concepts. Each sequenced step will follow a lesson process that enhances our History Curriculum.

• Memory Exercises- To help with the recall of skills and knowledge from previous studies or the earliest parts of the present study.
• Consolidation- Using images to help recall the knowledge previously taught.
• Discovery- To give opportunities to research and record new knowledge and to use Kagan strategies to implement classroom dynamics. Including the use of visitors and educational visits.
• Interpreting- To present their new learning and knowledge through a range of presentations.
• Reflect- To show further depth in the historical concepts, knowledge and skills and how these are implemented in other areas.

History Curriculum Map

Our Curriculum Map for History gives an overview of what is taught in each year group and in which half term it will be taught. In the Early Years, historical understanding and chronology is taught through a range of activities throughout the year. In Key Stage 1, the studies are based around significant events in British History and our local area, e.g. Guy Fawkes, The Great Fire of London.

In Key Stage 2, studies follow 3 strands of History: Strand 1- Ancient Civilisations. This strand  runs chronologically and takes us from the prehistory times, (that of the Stone, Iron and Bronze Ages) into discovering about the earliest civilisations with a short focus upon Ancient Egyptian. This is then followed with an in-depth study on the Ancient Greek (Western societal principles)

Strand Two- History of Britain, also runs chronologically through Romans and their time in Britain, The Scots and Anglo Saxons, Vikings and then the changing role of the monarchy from 1066. Baghdad helps support this learning by giving a viewpoint from another part of the world but within a similar time frame.

Strand Three- Significant Events focuses on studies about the History of Carlisle Castle to explore the history of our local area and then World War II, which feeds into the remembrance activities led by Upper Key Stage 2 pupils. 

Where appropriate, links between studies in different subjects are made, e.g. Year 5 studying Athens and Greece in Geography, before moving onto study Ancient Greece in History and design and make Greek clay pots in Design and Technology or in Year 1, the study of John Dodgson Carr and Silloth when studying a significant person and place in our local area in History, alongside the Geography study of tourism in Silloth.

History Curriculum Skills and Critical Content

Our curriculum skills for History show the progression of skills within each year group and strand of History. 

The History Curriculum is set out in a series of reasoned studies. Each study begins with an overview of the key events, key people, key vocabulary and their position within a historical timeline. Strands of skills throughout our History curriculum include: comparing past with the present, ordering of events, devising historically valid questions about change and constructing knowledge from a range of sources. Each sequenced step within the study offers key questions to interpret, key vocabulary to comprehend, and challenges to further develop the skills, knowledge and historical concepts

History Curriculum Impact

The impact will be that children take more ownership of their learning by constructing probing questions and investigations. They allow questioning to decide upon the direction of their learning. They choose reliability as their default position. They grow in resilience and learn to overcome obstacles by understanding that historical figures are steeped in failure before success. They understand the world around us, and what being a British citizen involves. They learn to use resolution as a tool to overcome conflict and that change is a forward thinking idea, not something to be feared but embraced.  In current climates (Covid-19) it is now, more than ever, vital that children embrace the skills of change and understanding of the past can help us to overcome problems.