St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swindon

At St Mary’s we believe a high-quality history education will inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Our history curriculum is not only designed so pupils gain a coherent understanding of the past in Britain and the wider world but is also created with the diversity of our pupils in mind and is sequenced so that knowledge and skills build over time. We recognise that pupils make progress in history not only through building their knowledge of the past but, by also understanding how historians study the past and construct accounts. Teaching follows rich and ambitious lines of enquiry by answering big questions such as What is the lasting legacy of the Ancient Greeks? We teach children in small steps so they have the substantive knowledge to be able to ask perceptive questions, think critically and develop perspective and judgement of not only the past but the society in which they live and that of the wider world. Throughout our history curriculum, the theme of power is a key thread. This includes invasion and settlement, legacy, empire, monarchy, government and society. By carefully mapping these themes across the units and revisiting them in different sequences of learning, we ensure children make links and gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into differnt contexts, understanding the connections between local, national and international history and developing their awareness of chronology.

What children learn in the EYFS is crucial knowledge for them to build on in the future. Through the ‘understanding the world’ area of learning, our pupils develop their knowledge and vocabulary by talking about the people around them and thinking about similarities and differences between things in the past and present, from both their own experiences and those in stories. In KS1 and KS2, History is taught as a subject in its own right, although, wherever possible, meaningful links are made across the curriculum. History is taught progressively across the school. Each year group responds to the whole school question of ‘Who were the great, the bold and the brave?’ through engaging in their own rich and ambitious enquiry. We ensure children make links and gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts and different periods of time. Through a range of people, events and places, diversity is embedded throughout our history curriculum.  History is taught in the third, fourth and fifth terms of the year. Consideration has been taken to best match skills to each unit of learning and are planned so they are revisited, practised and embedded over time. The knowledge and skills that children will develop throughout each history topic are mapped across each year group and across the school to ensure progression and enable teachers to be clear about what each year group are learning and how they build upon prior learning. Teacher’s subject knowledge is developed through the expertise of organisations such as Historical Association.  Wherever possible, we aim to bring history alive by taking learning away from the classroom and into the outside world with trips such as Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and GWR Steam Railway where workshops and visit materials deepen their understanding and knowledge.

The impact of our history curriculum can be seen through the work in children’s books. Children are aware of the whole school questions and how they will be responding to this question with their own year group enquiry – the curriculum goal. They know what they are learning, how it builds on previous learning and what steps they are taking to achieve the goal. Assessment targets are clear and, at the end of each topic, children complete final tasks so that teachers can evaluate whether a child is working at the expected standard and consider next steps. Learning is continually revisited. At the start of each lesson, teachers recap on prior learning and, where appropriate, school theme of community is used as part of a discussion to deepen children’s knowledge and understanding of how this is relevant in the subject of history.  At the end of the year, teachers will make an overall judgement of whether a pupil is working towards or meeting Age Related Expectations.