History

Our vision for History at Upton St James (USJ) is to foster an environment in which all children engage in the study of compelling and historical enquiries - investigating questions about people and events in the past in order to enable them to better understand their lives today and for a future as more informed and enlightened citizens. Through the study of history, pupils will learn to appreciate the complexity and diversity of human societies and development. They will develop a wide range of critical thinking skills, which enable them to understand the subjective nature of fact and opinion when reaching conclusions and making judgements about the past.   

With this in mind, we have established a school curriculum plan for History as an entitlement for all our pupils that: 

• Enables our pupils to ‘rise to their best’ and achieve the highest levels of success through providing them with the opportunities to excel in terms of their acquisition of long-lasting knowledge and understanding.  Our aspirations are clear in the progressive and increasingly challenging objectives of the scheme of work of each enquiry, which define clearly what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do;  

• Is logical, broad and balanced in terms of the areas of subject content we have selected which reflect the guidance and the demands of the National Curriculum. The content includes representative investigations of British history spanning the period from the Stone Age to the Norman invasion of 1066 as well as enquiries focusing on the achievements of ancient civilizations such as the Maya, the Shang Dynasty and Ancient Greece as well as utilising the wealth of history based in the local environment and community, when appropriate, such as life in Dartmoor prison. 

• Is carefully chronologically sequenced as pupils progress through the school which allows them opportunities to evaluate both change and progress from one historical period to another.  

• Is relevant in terms of the careful consideration that has been given to the selection of historical enquiries that extend the knowledge and understanding of pupils beyond 1066 e.g. evaluating the impact of the British Empire. Thus, ensuring our curriculum is culturally diverse and that pupils understand that the past can be represented and interpreted in different ways.  

Our History curriculum begins in the Early Years Foundation (EYFS) where our youngest pupils will be taught History through explicit units and through their continuous provision under the strand of Understanding of the World. Pupils will learn History through playing, exploring, active learning, creating and thinking critically (the Characteristics of Effective Learning) and through taught sessions where the children will learn both historical substantive and disciplinary knowledge (how to think like a historian), such as to comment on images of familiar images of the past and compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past 

At Upton we use David Weatherley’s Connected Curriculum and teach every history unit through an enquiry approach.  

Our principles are: 

• In every History lesson, it is made explicit to pupils that they are being taught History. 

• The children are taught through an enquiry approach within a spiral curriculum where they are taught to acquire historical substantive and disciplinary knowledge that builds on prior learning. Interleaving knowledge is used to achieve more demanding outcomes as they progress through each unit and key stage.  

• Through the use of the History Progression Document, teachers refer back to previous and subsequent year groups’ content in order to link learning, close gaps and build on previous knowledge. This document assigns age-appropriate vocabulary to be taught explicitly in History lessons. Local studies are used to enhance cultural capital, particularly of the local area. 

• Lessons are structured to develop long term memory by allowing for repetition of learning within the year, and year on year. This will be supported with regular retrieval testing and strategic retrieval questions within sessions.  

• Schemas of knowledge and knowledge organisers ensure planning carefully considers the knowledge and skills at the heart of each scheme, while providing a consistent approach to convey knowledge across the school. Chronological knowledge is supported by the use of timelines which allow children to recognise how their current enquiry unit of study fits with others.  

• Children are specifically taught tier 2 (grow words) and tier 3 (show words) in each unit and are built upon year-on-year. Pupils’ acquisition and command of an ever-growing store of historical vocabulary at their disposal is key to their learning and progress within History.  

Progression is developed through teaching of these second order concepts: 

1. Chronology - the characteristic features of periods, chronological vocabulary and the use of timelines 

2. Perspective– forming their own perspective and understanding that historians and people in history have different viewpoints and motives 

3. Change – developments during and between periods 

4. Continuity – constants  

5. Cause and consequence - why turning points occurred and their consequences/legacy 

6. Similarities and differences – technological advances and social diversity including beliefs, attitudes 

7. Significance – important people and events 

8. Empathy 

Substantive Concepts:  

These concepts are key ‘threads’ running through our history curriculum to develop its connectedness. Children gain deeper understanding of these substantive concepts as they move through the school.  

Historical enquiry:  

Pupils learning History through 'the lens of the discipline' as young historians, growing in their understanding of the methods and skills that historians employ to generate knowledge and historical narratives. As our pupils progress through the school from EYFS to Year 6, they are challenged to master and apply through a pedagogy of enquiry, the critical disciplinary thinking skills that characterise and inform learning in History summarised here:  

• Children will become increasingly aware of how historical events have shaped the world that they currently live in and become reflective and curious world citizens. 

• They will develop and have a better understanding of local, national and world history.  

• Children will become increasingly critical and analytical within their historical thinking, making informed and balanced judgements based on their and others’ knowledge of the past. 

• Children are able to retain prior-learning and explicitly make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning. 

• Children will confidently use history vocabulary that demonstrates their deepening understanding.