History

At Neville’s Cross Nursery and Primary School, we are HISTORIANS! We want our children to love history and truly appreciate the rich historical city we live and work in and its relevance to the wider world. Our aim is that, through the teaching of History, we stimulate all children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past, give them a real thirst for exploring the past and how this has affected the world we now live in.   

We teach children a sense of chronology, in order to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. This enables our children to learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern multicultural Britain. We aim to make all children aware of the actions of important people in history, locally, nationally and internationally. We enable children to know about significant events in history, whilst appreciating how things have changed over time.  

Our History curriculum will also ensure our children understand how Britain developed as a society, contributing to their understanding of their country of residence. Furthermore, our children will 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 believe that by allowing the children to understand the importance and enjoyment of History through different opportunities, they will become enthused learners in History. 

Our history curriculum is designed with our key curriculum drivers in mind: 

Creativity – we aim to foster our children’s natural curiosity and allow them to develop an understanding that history has the ability to encourage enquiry skills – to ask questions and look for possible answers – in our learners. 

Well-being – we aim to support our children in achieving their full potential and understand that by exploring the past we can identify successes and failures and learn from these.  

Our Communities – we aim to develop links with historians in local community as well as developing an understanding of how history has and continues to have an impact upon communities both locally, nationally and world-wide. We endeavour to stay current with world affairs and respond with humanity and kindness. 

History in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

In the Early Years, history is encouraged from the day our children start school –when they are encouraged to talk about their own life and their family’s history.  

In EYFS, our children will be increasingly aware of the changes in routines during different times of the day and seasons of the year. These changes in times have an impact on what activities they can do (sleep, eat, play, home, holidays etc) as well as what they wear and what they celebrate. We encourage children to share all of their thoughts and knowledge and this can act as a springboard for independent exploration and discovery. This in turn will give them a natural curiosity about what has happened in the past and begin to make sense of their own life and other significant people in their lives.

History in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

Our Neville’s Cross History curriculum aims to fully meet the requirements as outlined in the National Curriculum’s Programme of Study. Please see below to refer to our Long Term overview.

History in Key Stage 1

During their time in Key Stage 1, our pupils will develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They will know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They will develop and use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They will ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. Our children will understand some of the ways  we can find out about the past and identify different ways in which the past can be represented.  

 In Key Stage 1, pupils are taught about: 

• 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 

A history topic is explored every term. The children have an opportunity to delve into a new area of learning and develop their historical enquiry skills. Wherever possible, the children have access to artefacts and primary and secondary sources. They will begin to gain a chronological understanding. 

History in Key Stage 2 

Throughout Key Stage 2, our children will continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They will note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They will regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They will construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They will understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources. In Key Stage 2, our pupils are taught about: 

• 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 
• Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor 
• 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  
• Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world  
• non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300 

 We continue to explore a history topic every term. In LSK2 we concentrate on the invaders and settlers in the UK and dip our toes into the early civilisations. In UKS2, we strengthen our knowledge on a range of early civilisations and then return to the UK to study an event beyond 1066.  

Learning Links  

The curriculum has been carefully modelled so, wherever possible, subjects can be dovetailed allowing the children to use their historic knowledge to solve a problem or challenge in another subject. This is particularly evident when exploring how evidence is recorded over time. 

Additional opportunities  

History teaching should be a balance of developing knowledge and key skills.  The best learning is enriched with real life experiences and this in turn enables our children to have truly enquiring minds and ask those questions which take their learning and understanding a step further.  We have a wealth of opportunities for enrichment visits and these are linked to the learning. When access to a historical site is not feasible, we invite specialists and visitors to our school to create memorable learning opportunities. 

Impact  

The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge. Our History curriculum will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic history learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice and their work and help them develop an enquiring mind.