History

History Leaders: Mrs Broughton (Holme School)

Vision

Honest: We believe that every child has the potential to achieve a profound understanding of history through an honest exploration of the past. Our History curriculum is designed to inspire ambition and set high expectations for our learners. We encourage our pupils to engage with historical knowledge truthfully, providing them with the tools and support they need to reach their aspirations in understanding and appreciating the diverse events and narratives that have shaped our world.

Respectful: History fosters respect for the traditions, beliefs, and practices of others. We teach our pupils to approach historical events and perspectives with respect, both for the subject itself and for their fellow learners. We value collaboration, teamwork, and a respectful exchange of ideas in our History community.

Confidence: We empower our pupils to become confident thinkers and learners. We provide them with the skills and knowledge to explore and understand historical events and perspectives, instilling confidence in their abilities and fostering a sense of self-assurance. We believe that a confident approach to learning history enables students to tackle complex historical narratives with clarity and insight.

Responsibility: Understanding history comes with the responsibility to acknowledge and learn from the past. We teach our pupils to take responsibility for their learning, encouraging them to engage critically with historical sources and narratives. We emphasise the importance of ethical considerations and the impact of historical events on present and future societies.

Support: The journey to understanding history is supported by a strong network of guidance and encouragement. We provide our pupils with a supportive learning environment, ensuring they have access to the resources and assistance they need to succeed. We believe that a supportive atmosphere fosters a sense of belonging and motivates learners to reach their full potential.

Resilience: The path to understanding history is often filled with challenges. We teach our pupils the importance of resilience and persistence in the face of these challenges. We believe that encountering and overcoming misunderstandings and difficulties is a valuable part of the learning process, and we encourage our pupils to view setbacks as opportunities for growth.

Our vision is to cultivate learners who are not only knowledgeable about history but who also embody these values. We aim to develop learners who are honest in their exploration of historical events, respectful of diverse perspectives, confident in their interpretations, responsible in their learning, supported by a strong community, and resilient in the face of challenges.

Through these values, we aspire to equip our pupils with the confidence and competence necessary to excel in the 21st century and make a positive impact on the world by fostering understanding and respect for all.

Implementation

Long Term Plans

Welcome to the world of History at Holme Junior and Infant School, where our long-term overviews have been meticulously crafted to bring the richness and diversity of global events, cultures, and narratives to every child. 

Based on the National Curriculum, our plans emphasise thematic pathways that cover essential historical concepts:

1. Hierarchy and Power: Exploring the structures of power and authority throughout history, examining how leaders and institutions have influenced societies.
2. Society and Belief: Understanding the beliefs, values, and social structures of different cultures and how they have shaped historical events and everyday life.
3. Settlement and Technology: Investigating the development of settlements and the technological advancements that have driven human progress and change.
4. Travel and Exploration: Examining the motivations, experiences, and impacts of travel and exploration, from ancient migrations to global exploration.

Carefully sequenced, we have paired our 'big questions' with these thematic pathways, to meet the structure of our complex mixed-age classes. Our thematic pathways are revisited throughout a child's school life, with substantive knowledge (big questions) continually developed through age-appropriate disciplinary knowledge outlined in the Medium Term Plans. We run a two year rolling cycle in Cherry class to accommodate our EYFS-KS1 children and a two year rolling cycle in Oak and Rowan to cover years 3-4 and    5-6. 

Medium Term Plans

Designed with precision, these plans take small, purposeful steps to create a coherent and logical progression through the world of history. Mapped out is the disciplinary knowledge amongst key phases to ensure that all outcomes from each lesson are age-appropriate, fostering collaboration and enhancing the learning experience.

The pathways ensure a coherent and sequential learning experience, building a rich and profound knowledge of historical events and perspectives. Our medium-term plans are designed as a guide for teachers, allowing them the discretion to ensure comprehensive coverage of topics and learning objectives while accommodating the dynamic nature of school life. We recognise that flexibility is essential to fully meet the curriculum, and our teachers are trusted to adapt their lessons to best serve their pupils' needs.

As your child engages with our medium-term plans, they embark on a collaborative and empowering educational journey, building confidence, deepening understanding, and developing a genuine respect for the diversity of human experiences and achievements. Welcome to a place where every small step is a purposeful stride toward historical literacy and sensitivity at Holme Junior and Infant School.

Impact

We assess pupils' skills and knowledge against our own curriculum design, ensuring clarity in what and how pupils are learning on a day-to-day basis.

To measure the impact of our teaching and learning for each child, we focus on three key areas of assessment:

• Substantive Knowledge: What do they know and understand about historical events, people, and periods?
• Disciplinary Knowledge: What skills have they learned in exploring historical concepts and practices?
• Personal Knowledge: How has the study of history shaped their personal views and understanding of the world?

Each unit of work is developed through careful curriculum planning, allowing pupils to make progress through key stages of learning: 

• Understand the chronological narrative of British history: From the earliest times to the present day, exploring how people's lives have shaped the nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.

• Explore significant aspects of world history: Including ancient civilisations, the expansion and dissolution of empires, features of non-European societies, and the achievements and mistakes of humanity.

• Deploy historically grounded abstract terms: Such as 'empire', 'civilisation', 'parliament', and 'peasantry'.

• Understand historical concepts: Including continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and significance. Use these to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions, and create structured accounts.

• Understand historical enquiry methods: Including how evidence is rigorously used to make historical claims and discerning how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

• Gain historical perspective: By placing growing knowledge into different contexts and understanding the connections between local, regional, national, and international history, as well as between various aspects of history such as cultural, economic, military, political, religious, and social history, and between short- and long-term timescales.

As pupils advance through these stages, teachers conduct day-to-day formative assessments to build a comprehensive picture of each pupil's progress.

At the end of each unit, teachers make a summative assessment based on these key stages. Our exemplar planning, supporting the National Curriculum, uses a mastery model including:

• Expected Standard: Pupils meeting the expected level of understanding and skill.
• Working Towards the Expected Standard: Pupils developing towards the expected level.
• Working Deeper Within the Expected Standard: Pupils exceeding the expected level with deeper understanding and skills.

This model helps in reporting progress and achievement to the next teacher or key stage. At Hinchliffe Mill Junior and Infant School, we monitor and track pupil progress in History by using our assessment spreadsheet at the end of each lesson. Our spreadsheet outlines key assessment statements from the lessons outlined on Medium Term Plans. 

Through this structured approach, we ensure that every child at Hinchliffe Mill Junior and Infant School experiences a meaningful and impactful Historical Education, tailored to their individual learning journey.

Our 'Kapow' Toolkit