St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Intent/Our Aim in the Teaching of History

At St Anne's, we bellieve it is important for children to develop a sense of identity through learning about the past and how history has shaped their lives.  Through the provision of our History Curriculum, it is our aim for pupils to:

- gain a secure understanding of historical chronology

- classify, analyse and evaluate critically a large range of primary and secondary sources considering bias and provenance

- build a secure knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world making  links between historical periods previously taught

- develop a good understanding of local history that complements studies about the UK and the wider world

- be able to write a balanced/persuasive report

We also aim to:

- encourage children to develop a deep curiosity about the past

- ask perceptive questions

- think critically, weigh evidence and sift arguments

- develop perspective and judgement

Adaptations are made to History lessons to ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum and are not disadvantaged by Special Educational Needs or Disability.

Catholic Ethos, Catholic Social Teaching and History

Our intent in the teaching of History is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.  

We believe 

- that the teaching of history provides many opportunities to teach children about the importance of peace and how to be peacemakers. 

- that in learning about man's accomplishments across history, children become more aware of the dignity of the individual, the potential of mankind and the importance of participation.

- that solidarity is built through History by learning about the lives and experiences of peoples living in the past and in different parts of the world.  

- that the common good is built by knowing ourselves and where we come from alongside knowing about the past of others.  In this way, we can better appreciate the perspectives others may have.  The common good is also advanced by the incorporation of themes such as rulers and topics such as the Y6 unit on Crime and Punishment.  We also believe that by learning to criticially analyse sources for bias and provenance, students acquire skills to look at any document criticially and in a considered manner.

- that solidarity is built through History by learning about the lives and experiences of peoples living in the past and in different parts of the world.  

As a school we we have chosen to adopt Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work.

Our history curriculum aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically as historians, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. Through our curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of significant individuals and events in local, British and global history and recognise how things have changed over time. Our intent in History is to support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups.

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 we follow the National Curriculum for History and use the Kapow scheme to support teaching and learning. The scheme is organised into substantive knowledge strands and disciplinary strands. The scheme aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts of their own historical enquiries.

In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, the Kapow scheme aims to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture. Through our history curriculum our aim is for our children to flourish into keen historians. 

Each year group in KS1 and KS2 teaches three units of history (one each half term) each week. The scheme is organised into units consisting of 6 lessons. Within each unit our lessons are taught in order as they build upon one another. The flexibility in the order of units allows us to adapt the learning to suit our school and make use of cross- curricular links.

Some units are created by ourselves, still folllowing the substantive concepts, to enable the school to look at local History. 

Progression grid and knowledge organisers