History throughout the school follows the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014. For more information about our curriculum, you can speak to your child's teacher, a senior leader, or our curriculum leader (Mrs Becky Hibbitt).

Key Stage 1

At KS1, children have the following opportunities:

• look at the lives of significant individuals in Britain’s past who have contributed to our nation’s achievements – scientists such as Isaac Newton or Michael Faraday, reformers such as Elizabeth Fry or William Wilberforce, medical pioneers such as Florence Nightingale, or creative geniuses such as Isambard Brunel or Christina Rossetti;

• know key events in the past that are significant nationally and globally, particularly those that coincide with festivals or other events that are commemorated throughout the year;

• know significant historical events, people and places in their locality.

They learn through the following objectives:

• Observe or handle evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past.

• Ask questions such as: What was it like for people? What happened? How long ago?

• Use artefacts, pictures, stories, online sources and databases to find out about the past.

• Identify some of the different ways the past has been represented.

• Describe historical events.

• Describe significant people from the past.

• Recognise that there are reasons why people in the past acted as they did.

• Place events and artefacts in order on a time line.

• Label time lines with words or phrases such as past, present, older and newer.

• Recount changes that have occurred in their own lives.

• Use dates where appropriate.

• Use words and phrases such as: a long time ago, recently, when my parents/carers were children, years, decades and centuries to describe the passing of time.

• Show an understanding of the concept such as civilisation, monarchy, parliament, democracy, and war and peace.

Key Stage 2

At KS2, opportunities involve the children learning about:

• changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age;

• the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain;

• Britain’s settlement by Anglo Saxons and Scots;

• the Viking and Anglo Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England;

• a local history study;

• a study of a theme in British history;

• the achievements of early civilizations and an in-depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer, The Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt, The Shang Dynasty;

• Ancient Greece;

• a non-European society that contrasts with British history chosen from: Early Islamic Civilisation, Mayan Civilisation, Benin;

In lower KS2 (Years 3 and 4), they learn through the following objectives:

• To investigate and interpret the past:
  • Use evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past.

  • Suggest suitable sources of evidence for historical enquiries.

  • Use more than one source of evidence for historical enquiry in order to gain more accurate understanding of history.

  • Describe different accounts of a historical event, explaining some of the reasons why the accounts may differ.

  • Suggest causes and consequences of some of the main events and changes in history.

• To build an overview of world history:
  • Describe changes that have happened in the locality of the school throughout history.

  • Give a broad overview of life in Britain.

  • Compare some of the times studied with those of other areas of interest around the world.

  • Describe the social, ethnic, cultural or religious diversity of past society.

  • Describe the characteristic features of the past, including ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children.

• To understand chronology:

  • Place artefacts and historical figures on a time line using dates.

  • Understand the concept of change over time, representing this, along with evidence, on a time line.

  • Use dates and terms to describe events.

• To communicate historically:
  • Use appropriate historical vocabulary to communicate, including dates, time period, era, change, chronology.
  • Use literacy, numeracy and computing skills to a good standard in order to communicate information about the past.

In upper KS2 (Years 5 and 6), they learn through the following objectives:

• To investigate and interpret the past:

  • Use sources of evidence to deduce information about the past.

  • Select suitable sources of evidence, giving reasons for choices.

  • Use sources of information to form testable hypotheses about the past.

  • Seek out and analyse a wide range of evidence in order to justify claims about the past.

  • Show an awareness of the concept of propaganda and how historians must understand the social context of evidence studied.

  • Understand that no single source of evidence gives the full answer to questions about the past.

  • Refine lines of enquiry as appropriate.

• To build an overview of world history:

  • Identify continuity and change in the history of the locality of the school.

  • Give a broad overview of life in Britain and some major events from the rest of the world.

  • Compare some of these times studied with those of the other areas of interest around the world.

  • Describe the social, ethnic, cultural or religious diversity of past society.

  • Describe the characteristic features of the past, including beliefs, ideas, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children.

• To understand chronology:

  • Describe the main changes in a period of history (using terms such as social, religious, political, technological and cultural).

  • Identify periods of rapid change in history and contrast them with times of relatively little change.

  • Understand the concepts of continuity and change over time, representing them, along with evidence, on a time line.

  • Use dates and terms accurately in describing events.

• To communicate historically:

  • Use appropriate historical vocabulary to communicate including dates, time period, era, chronology, continuity, change, century, decade, legacy.

  • Use literacy, numeracy and computing skills to exceptional standard in order to communicate information about the past.

  • Use original ways to present information and ideas.