Intent

At Field Lane, we want our children to love history. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be archivists, museum curators and archaeologists. Our aim is to stimulate children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past and so enhance the children’s cultural capital, enabling our children to learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. 

Our curriculum inspires children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians. We teach children a sense of chronology, in order to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. We create links across topics which helps children to see the links between key concepts such as power, monarchy and social organisation. 

We aim to make all children aware of the actions of important people in history and enable children to know about significant events in British history, whilst appreciating how things have changed over time. Our children learn about aspects of local, British and Ancient history. This wider awareness leads to the children having some knowledge of historical development in the wider world.

We enable the children to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past by formulating and refining questions and lines of enquiry. 

Implementation

At Field Lane, History is taught through whole class sessions where skills, concepts and knowledge are taught discreetly. Children revisit these and apply their understanding in Smart Time where history is taught through activities including drama, artefact handling and independent research. Real experiences and visits, planned in all year groups, bring the subject to life.  Teachers complete an assessment grid after each topic to show the children’s understanding of each topic. Topics are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth.

We have developed a progression of skills with each Key Stage, which enables pupils to build on and develop their skills each year.

In KS1, History begins by looking at the children’s own personal history and introduces them to the idea of chronology and timelines. We look at significant events and people who have shaped society, locally, nationally and globally.

In KS2, children study aspects of local history, a British history topic and ancient history topics. In order to support children in their ability to know more and remember more, there are regular opportunities to review the learning that has taken place in previous topics as well as previous lessons.

At the start of each topic children review previous learning and will have the opportunity to share what they already know about a current topic.

Our curriculum covers key historical concepts: chronological understanding, historical knowledge, historical interpretation, historical enquiry and organisation and communication.

Children are given opportunities, where possible, to study artefacts leading to enquiry, investigation, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and presentation.

Educational visits and visitors enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experience.

Teachers set high expectations for all pupils. They will use appropriate assessment to set ambitious targets and plan challenging work for all groups, including:

•   More able pupils
•   Pupils with low prior attainment
•   Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds
•   Pupils with SEN
•   Pupils with English as an additional language (EAL)

Teachers will plan lessons so that pupils with SEN and/or disabilities can study every subject, wherever possible, and ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving.

Teachers use inclusive high quality teaching to meet the needs of all pupils through an adapted curriculum

Teachers will also take account of the needs of pupils whose first language is not English. Lessons will be planned so that teaching opportunities help pupils to develop their English, and to support pupils to take part in all subjects.

Further information can be found in our statement of equality information and objectives, and in our SEN policy and information report.

Early Years foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of History through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World’. This aspect is about how children find out about past and present events in their own lives, their families and other people they know. Children are encouraged to develop a sense of change over time and are given opportunities to differentiate between past and present by observing routines throughout the day, growing plants, observing the passing of seasons and time and looking at photographs of their life and of others. Practitioners encourage investigative behaviour and raise questions such as, ‘What do you think?', ‘Tell me more about?', 'What will happen if..?', ‘What else could we try?', ‘What could it be used for?' and ‘How might it work?' Use of language relating to time is used in daily routines and conversations with children for example, ‘yesterday', ‘old', ‘past', ‘now' and ‘then'.

Impact

Children are expected to leave Field Lane reaching at least age-related expectations for History. Our History curriculum will lead pupils to be enthusiastic history learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice and their work. 

• Low stake quizzes at the end of every topic assess children’s knowledge of historical skills and knowledge. 
• Each child completes a project at the end of a History unit. Children choose how they wish to present these pieces of work. 
• Each project has a checklist with a list of non-negotiable activities / tasks that will be used to evidence achievement. We feel as a school this allows children to pursue their own lines of enquiry within a topic and gives them ownership of their own learning.

For each History topic studied, teachers will assess the children’s progression. This will be formative assessment, drawn from written, oral and visual evidence of learning over the course of the project. 

• SMART time responses and work - adult led 
• Independent smart time activities 
• Projects 
• Work linked into English lessons 
• Responses to experiences / visits 
• Shared texts