History

“A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.’  Marcus Garvey

INTENT         

What do we teach? Why do we teach it?

At Sir Thomas Abney there is a strong commitment to develop a love of History within every child. We aim to teach it in a coherent and progressive way which meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. We wish to stimulate curiosity, promote a thoughtful and considerate outlook and encourage critical thinking which will help the children to understand both Britain’s past and that of other places in the world. We aim for our History curriculum to be representative and to acknowledge the contributions of people from all over the world to the development of Britain as a nation.

We will:

• Teach the children about the history of Britain, its place in the world, and that of other countries and civilizations.
• Engage them in the process of enquiry so that they are able to ask questions, weigh evidence and develop perspective.
• Teach them how to recognise bias and appreciate why there are different versions of the same historical events.
• Build awareness of historical concepts and enable the children to make inferences about people and societies from the past.
• Challenge them to think about what it means to be human and how human behaviour has shaped the world throughout history.
• Develop the children’s understanding of the process of change over time.
• Help them to appreciate the diversity of societies and relationships, as well as understanding their own identity and any challenges that are relevant to them.

 IMPLEMENTATION

How do we teach and assess and how does this look in practice?

Each unit of work is carefully planned to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum, complement other subject areas, build on previous knowledge and develop a deep and rich appreciation of historical concepts and cultures. A wide range of pedagogical approaches are used to provide a balanced, engaging and inclusive programme of learning. History skills and targeted vocabulary are shared on classroom displays, included in a lesson’s focus and regularly highlighted within teaching. Subject-specific vocabulary is used in children’s work and revisited regularly throughout units of work to ensure understanding. In each year group, time is dedicated to ensuring that the content of the National Curriculum is delivered and explored in a deep and meaningful way, allowing the children to build a secure knowledge base and develop the skills and understanding required to investigate complex historical concepts and gain confidence as historians.

Children are taught about:

• Changes within living memory.
• Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally.
• The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.
• Significant events, people and places local to the school.
• Periods of British, local and world history.

Regular sessions are structured so that clear links are made to prior knowledge and children begin lessons by recalling key information from previous learning that will be built on in future work. Activities within lessons are varied and make different demands on the children, so that a range of learning styles are being catered for and used in classrooms. Opportunities are provided for the children to develop their own knowledge through independent research, source-work and responding to activities in a way that personalises their learning. At the end of lessons, children have the chance to evaluate and reflect on their learning and teachers assess each child’s progress at the end of units in a way that is informed, inclusive and shows awareness of different areas of progress made by each child.

Educational trips and enrichment

High quality enrichment activities are regularly scheduled to promote learning and enjoyment of History. London, and our local area of Hackney, provide a wealth of museums, historical buildings and monuments to engage and inspire our children. It is a priority to recognise the diverse cultural backgrounds of our children and their families’ own personal stories of the past which allows them to gain an understanding of social issues and changes from one generation to the other.

For more details, please also see our History Curriculum Overview; History National Curriculum.

IMPACT

How do we know what children have learned?

Formative assessments are made during and after lessons using observations, key questioning, marking and annotation of children’s work. Teachers use this information to support the planning of teaching and learning in subsequent sessions. At the end of units of work, summative assessments are made through a combination of teacher judgement and opportunities for children to demonstrate what they have learned and can recall from a topic. This may take the form of an assessed activity and/or conversations with children, either individually or in small groups. Children may take end of term quizzes or write chronological reports, or essays on key individuals, events, or advancements of the time.

Overall Intended Impact:

• History should be taught in a way which inspires the children’s curiosity about the past and formulate historical questions of their own. 
• By studying famous figures, significant historical events and different cultures, children can see that qualities such as determination, resilience, motivation and self-belief are needed to be successful in life and can make links to their own experiences based on what they learn.
• Children should be taught to draw their own inferences and conclusions when given a range of sources from which to draw evidence.
• Children can recall key knowledge from current and previous learning, becoming increasingly able to make links between areas of knowledge.
• Children make good progress in their acquisition of skills, knowledge and conceptual understanding.
• Older children should have an awareness of historical bias.
• Children engage in a range of different learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom.
• Teachers have the confidence and knowledge to deliver a well planned, broad and balanced curriculum to pupils using a range of resources and approaches.
• Staff evaluate the impact of their teaching and learning and develop their practice to suit the learners in their classroom. 
• Assessment (formative and summative) is regular, wide-ranging and enables gaps in learning to be identified and acted upon.

Useful Links

Below are some resources to inspire the children to continue to learn about the people, places and events of the past.

Museum of London Docklands

National Geographic - History for children

Primary resources, homework help and online games - BBC Bitesize