History
The Intent, Implementation and Impact of History at Seascale Primary School
The Intent, Implementation and Impact of Geography at Seascale Primary School
Intent
Seascale School is driven by the children’s curiosity to deepen their understanding of the past. At Seascale School our intent is to provide children with a sense of belonging and an understanding of the impact of the past on modern living. We aim to provide a curriculum that develops Early Learning and Key Stage specific skills and knowledge, where new learning builds on previous knowledge, and skills are embedded and enhanced. We aim for children to be inspired by our past world.
Implementation
Using the ‘Understanding the World’ specific area in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, children are encouraged to talk about past and present events in their own lives and look closely at similarities and differences creating a bedrock for their chronological understanding. They begin to make sense of their own life story and family’s history and begin to compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
The National curriculum for History is split in to Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Key Stage 1 comprises of 4 main areas of subject content:
- 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 historical events, people and places in their own locality.
In Key Stage 2:
- 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 to the time of Edward the Confessor
- a local history study
- a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
- the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
- Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
- a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history
To support the delivery of our KS1 and KS2 History curriculum, we use Hamilton Trust units. History topics are mostly taught chronologically and cover a wide range of topics such as Great Fire of London in KS1 to a Roman Study and beyond in KS2. Alongside the national curriculum content we ensure that all children progress through the intended skills to prepare them for their future history learning. Skills are developed during History teaching are revisited in each year to embed their knowledge and understanding and allow for a progression. Our history curriculum is strengthened with concepts that are built on each year
- Time, Chronology, Continuity and Change
- Cause and Effect
- Interpreting History
- Historical Sources
Our History curriculum is linked to our 6 key themes, which are revisited through Key Stage 1 and 2:
- Settlement
- Rituals, Belief and Religion
- Society and Civilisation
- Conflict and Invasion
- Power and Rule
- Technological Advances
Children are engaged in their learning through exciting teaching opportunities and experiential opportunities such as educational visits or visitors and resource boxes. They also enjoy using technology, when relevant, alongside other curriculum areas to enhance and enrich their learning.
During the children’s time at Seascale they have the opportunity to study significant people of national and international importance during Black History Month.
Impact
Assessment of History at Seascale is based on the development of our historical concepts. These are tracked as children progress through each year group.
The children of Seascale School develop a deep chronological understanding of world history as well as past and present day in Britain and significant historical people. They are equipped with historical skills which enable them to progress through their future learning journey in these subjects. Due to our approach, children also develop a chronological understanding of key historical events. They develop the ability to critically question the past and ensure for a sustainable future, all the while, building on their curiosity and love for learning.
At Seascale Primary School we think History is ...
*Please note that due to class structure, the coverage of these units may be in different year groups.