History

History at St. Gerard’s Catholic Primary School

Vision Statement for History

Learning about significant events and people in History should lay the foundations for an enquiring and questioning mind.

Our vision is that pupils leave St Gerard’s with an enquiring mind that has developed a chronological knowledge of key historical periods and facts, combined with knowledge of significant individuals who have helped shape society as it is today.

Intent

The breadth of historical knowledge the pupils are given and the exposure to how life was in the past, aims to motivate the children to develop an inquisitive mind that asks questions such as how life today came about. Children will develop an understanding of their local heritage and its significance.

We will teach children the skills to be a good historian; how to research and gather information, to develop their skills of enquiry and analysis as well as starting to question information gathered and its reliability.

We believe that educational visits linked to historical study enhance and enthuse pupil’s by learning by bringing to life classroom knowledge,

Implementation

Our historical journey begins in EYFS where our children talk about the lives of people
around them and their roles in society. They talk about some similarities and
differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. They are also taught to understand the past through
settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

For Years 1 – 6, our history curriculum is delivered through the CUSP curriculum. Each topic is based around an enquiry question which is a stimulus for planning and learning. A variety of teaching and learning styles develop children’s enthusiasm, knowledge, skills and understanding.

Educational visits provide unforgettable experiences both in the local area and as far as London. The local area provides history on the doorstep and local heroes, such as Captain Cook, bring history to life.

Historical Knowledge

All knowledge can be sorted into two main groups: substantive and disciplinary.

Substantive knowledge refers to knowledge of the past: people, events, ideas, and so on.

It is the subject knowledge and explicit vocabulary used about the past

Substantive Concepts – Big Ideas in History

Community

Knowledge

Invasion

Civilisation

Power

Democracy

Disciplinary knowledge refers to knowledge of history as a discipline: the methods of historians. This is the use of that knowledge and how children construct understanding through historical claims, arguments and accounts. We call it ‘Working Historically.’

Disciplinary Knowledge – Thinking as a Historian

Chronology

Cause & consequence

Change & continuity

Similarity & difference

Evidence

Significance

Impact

Pupils leave St Gerard’s with an enquiring mind that has developed a chronological knowledge of key historical periods and facts, combined with knowledge of significant individuals who have helped shape society as it is today. The key skills they have developed combined with the knowledge they have acquired will help pupils make more informed life choices and aspire to be open-minded citizens who make a valuable contribution to society.

Assessment is an ongoing process and recorded against National Curriculum objectives.