History  

History

Vision

Excellence achieved through care, creativity and challenge.

Intent

Our curriculum design ensures our pupils are able to develop their understanding of a range of key historical concepts and use them to make connections, draw contrasts and frame enquiry questions.

Implementation

At King’s Hedges, our history curriculum is separated into a series of purple threads. These purple threads are key concepts that ensure understanding is developed consistently throughout pupils’ learning journey. These threads are as follows: chronological understanding, historical enquiry and interpretation, historical concepts (similarity, differences, continuity, change, causes, consequences and significance) and organisation and communication. Historical inquiry and interpretation are taught through the use of primary sources. Manipulating this historical evidence helps the pupils in our catchment demographic to relate in a personal way to these events, promoting deeper understanding.

The areas within the historical concept thread develop the learner’s ability to compare and make links across time periods and enable them to say why a particular event occurred. Equally, the final two threads are vital. Disciplinary skills allow them to provide reasons for their thoughts. Our own historical statements for each thread have been adapted from the National Curriculum, meaning each thread is taught comprehensively.

To introduce each historical theme, the teacher will create a “big bang” lesson. This lesson will often take a practical approach in order to engage and enthuse the year group ready for the theme.

At KHEF, each historical theme is delivered using an in-depth planning document. Every theme is posed as an over-arching question. For example, one year 4 historical theme is called “Were the Romans invaders or conquerors?”. These plans are split into 6 or more sessions. Each session has a question as its main focus. These individual session questions allow the learning to be pieced together each week. By the final session, students will be able to answer the over-arching theme question and put that theme into historical context.

Focus threads have also been given to each session like “Conflict and Power”. These focus threads are concepts that appear consistently in each theme and allow pupils to make connections between the time periods they cover. Historical vocabulary is built upon across the learning sequence and is interleaved in comprehension and writing sessions.

Impact

Assessment for learning is embedded within each session with constant links to prior knowledge. In the final history session of each theme,  an opportunity is provided for children to collate their learning, demonstrate their understanding and provide further summative assessment for teachers. Finally, students will assess their own understanding of a theme using a knowledge organiser. Students will highlight the key concepts and vocabulary they understand.

Our principal aim is for children to have a comprehensive and secure understanding of historical chronology as well as British, local and world history. This aim is reflected in the afore mentioned thread. By analysing both local and world history, our curriculum remains connected to their everyday lives and lived reality. By year 6, students will be able to make connections between time periods, spot trends over time and critique the reliability of different sources.

Enhancements

Our assemblies provide pupils with a wider view on world history. We conduct assemblies with links to World War One and remembrance and well as Black History Month that highlight the historical prejudice of apartheid and segregation. This develops the values of togetherness and unity. Trips also enrich our curriculum; with visits to local places like Oliver Cromwell’s house in Ely. Displays throughout the school provide further opportunity to embed historical learning- the vibrant, corridor-length timeline in our older school building is a clear example of this.