Mossley C.E Primary SchoolHistory
Intent - what do we teach?
When planning for the History curriculum we intend to provide our children with a high-quality History education as outlined in the National Curriculum this:
“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. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.”
We use the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) scheme to support our teaching of History. The Primary Knowledge Curriculum aspires to create curious and knowledgeable young people, who hold a deep understanding and appreciation of the discipline of history, and are able to sift and weigh evidence to begin to formulate their own viewpoints and perspectives of the world.
Implementation - how do we teach it?
The history curriculum at Mossley Primary School has been designed to be both knowledge-rich and coherently sequenced. Knowledge, in the realm of history, means not only substantive knowledge of historical events, dates and people in the past, but also knowledge of substantive concepts in history (such as ‘empire’, ‘monarchy’ and ‘civil war’), and disciplinary historical concepts (such as evidence, causation, significance and interpretation). We teach history as a discrete subject weekly in Key Stage 2 and then in Key Stage 1 we teach history weekly for alternate half terms. The organisation of the curriculum can be seen in the documents that you will find at the bottom of this webpage. Each unit that is studied has a knowledge organiser that is used by the children to support their retrieval of knowledge and the key vocabulary. It also features a timeline that helps the children to develop their chronological understanding.
Our history curriculum allows children to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of local, British and world history. The substantive knowledge taught in the curriculum has been carefully chosen and sequenced using a largely chronological approach. Each unit of work is viewed as a chapter in the story of the history of Britain and the wider world. In this sense, the chronological approach provides a solid framework, anchoring each unit within a wider narrative. Understanding in history requires an understanding of causation. This allows children to understand the causes of significant national and global events, (such as World War I), when they have some background knowledge of what happened before (such as the origins and growth of European empires, including the British Empire).
Knowledge of substantive concepts and disciplinary concepts have been interleaved across the curriculum, allowing children to encounter and apply these in different contexts. From year to year, unit to unit, lesson to lesson, the curriculum supports children in making connections and building upon prior substantive and disciplinary knowledge. For example, the children develop a secure understanding of ‘monarchy’ in Britain. They begin to learn about British monarchs in Year 1, and build upon their knowledge of monarchy in British society throughout the curriculum, looking at the reigns of significant monarchs such as Henry II, Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, with a focus on understanding the transition from the autocratic and unlimited power of early monarchs to the limited constitutional role of contemporary British monarchs. Each British history unit allows children to add to their understanding of ‘monarchy’ in Britain, the impact it had on the lives of the British people, and analyse the significance and legacy of each monarch.
Our history curriculum is balanced to enable children to look in some depth at local, national and world history, encouraging children to explore the connection between significant events and people and how they have influenced the modern world. The content in the curriculum ensures children have a secure overview of a period, before studying aspects in more depth. We use our local area as much as possible, taking children to Stafford Castle, Congleton Museum, Hanley Museum and the local cenotaph to name a few.
The curriculum aims to help children understand how the past is constructed and contested. Children begin by learning about what a historian does, looking at basic sources and simplified perspectives to develop an appreciation and understanding of what it means to be a historian. As their substantive knowledge grows, children will be able to ask perceptive questions, analyse more complex sources and begin to use their knowledge to develop perspective. Disciplinary concepts, such as continuity and change, cause and consequence and similarity, difference and significance, are explored in every unit, and children are supported to think outside of their current unit of work and apply these concepts across the curriculum.
The curriculum aims to ignite children’s love for history, preparing them with essential knowledge for Key Stage 3 and beyond. We also engage our youngest children in EYFS with learning about the past and present. Through the careful use of PKC and Development Matters the children learn all about the monarchy, their own family history and what Congleton looked like in the past. They have the opportunity to visit Stafford Castle and our local woodlands to look at changes over time.
All history is worth studying, but as we do not have the time to cover everything, the units have been carefully chosen to cover as wide ranging content as possible without compromising depth. From ancient civilisations and prehistoric Britain to the Civil Rights Movement; looking at law and power across the ages to the impacts of industrialisation and technological advances; understanding invasion and migration, exploitation and political movements for freedom and equality. The curriculum aims to introduce the children to a wide variety of men, women and children from the past; from the widely venerated, to the lives of the less well-known who offer us a rich insight into life at the time- from Aristotle to Martin Luther King, from Emmeline Pankhurst to Alan Turning.
As a school we place great importance on our children being part of, and being able to remember, historically significant events such as celebrating our late Queen's Jubilee and the coronation of our King. We celebrated in style with a whole school 'street party' and dressing in red, white and blue. We also hold a school Remembrance service each year and the choir attend the Congleton centotaph service. Black History Month is an important time for us when the children learn all about significant individuals and their achievements. This continues throughout the year when children experience a range of high-quality texts that teach them about historically significant events and people across a range of communities and cultures.
Impact - how do we measure the impact of what we teach?
Our progressive history curriculum has been carefully designed in such a way that ensures that children know more and remember more across a lesson, series of lessons, from each term to the next and then building on from the previous years learning.
Assessment of history is on-going throughout a pupil’s school journey. The teaching of history is assessed by the class teacher during and after lessons with both verbal and written feedback given when appropriate. Evidence of the learning is dependent on the lesson outcome, year group and the skills and knowledge being developed. Throughout the course of the lesson the class teacher will move around the class, offering support where needed so that each child receives direct feedback and the appropriate level of challenge.
History is assessed using low stakes multiple choice quizzes and in class assessments at the end of a topic to assess their knowledge. This is used to inform future planning and starters in lessons where pupils recap and review previous learning e.g. through a history timeline with the key facts. In Key Stage 2 children are also given the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through a written task.
The children's History books show evidence of a balanced and wide-ranging history curriculum. They demonstrate that the children have acquired key knowledge in the topic taught and whether a child is able to apply some of the vocabulary that they have learnt for a specific unit. Pupil voice is used to ensure that the children know more and remember more and we regularly speak to the children who tell us that:
"I love learning in history because I always find out interesting facts about the past." (Yr 3 pupil)
"I have really enjoyed learning about the reasons for why WWll began. I am so proud of my assessment task." (Yr 6 pupil)
"History is my favourite subject because we get to know more about what has happened in the past." (Yr 5 pupil)
Our curriculum allows pupils to feel like they have gained understanding of the past and they can form their own judgements using a wide range of sources to support them. Their opinions will be heard and valued. Through the teaching of past events, pupils will develop empathy and compassion for others and some understanding of the wider community and world we live in. The impact of history lessons should leave pupils with a deeper moral, spiritual and cultural understanding of the world.
How can I support my child with this subject?
At the bottom of the webpage we have provided some 'Top Tips to help your child to become a brilliant historian'. Please take a look and complete some of the suggested activities. If you do then please email some pictures to the address below and it may be worth some house points!
In addition please take a look at this webpage https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/topics/history where you will find lots of recommended high quality history texts that your child may want to read.
Mrs Lindsay Swift (Assistant Headteacher) is the History subject lead and our History Link Governor is Mr Keith Smith. If you have any further questions about History at Mossley Primary School then please contact us on assistanthead@mossleyce.cheshire.sch.uk
'The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.' - Theodore Roosevelt