History
INTENT – Our Vision for History:
At Totley All Saints, we believe that History should be concerned with stimulating the children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. We aim for the children to develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. Therefore, we make lots of links to our school and community with a look at Victorian Totley in KS1 and a detailed study of the history of TASS in KS2. We teach children to understand how events in the past have influenced our lives today; we also teach the children to investigate these past events and, by so doing, develop the skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem solving.
Our Curriculum reflects the ethos and aims of the school as well as the context from which our children derive. This means that our curriculum provides the necessary building blocks to develop the necessary knowledge and skills, whilst also promoting British Values, healthy lifestyles and mental well-being, plus excellent behaviour and attitudes. It is underpinned with a large emphasis on SMSC development, a strong practical outworking for others in line with our Christian ethos, whilst also building character and readiness for the next stages of education and the learning journey beyond.
To find out more about our intent, implementation and impact for History, please open:
IMPLEMENTATION – History Planning & Sequencing of Knowledge & Skills:
To find out how History is planned & sequenced in order that our children can progress through the building blocks for learning, please click below:
Aims of the National Curriculum in History:
The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:
- know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
- know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
- gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
- understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
- understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorous to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
To find out more information about the National Curriculum for this subject & others, please click here.
Learning Experience: What is the breadth of experience provided for our children?
- Quality First teaching: variety of teaching styles, varied stimulus
- Quality Resources: a wide range of books, iPad’s, online resources & programmes, schemes of work to support teaching
- Visits: e.g. Victorian classroom, museum visits, etc.
- Visitors: e.g. focussed workshops, past pupils, Totley History Society representatives.
- Experiences: role-play, what it would be like to live in the past.
Resources: What resources are used to support the teaching & learning of this subject?
- A range of books to support each learning theme
- Online resources & programmes
- Published schemes
- Self and teacher assessment materials.
Links with other Subject Areas: What links are made between this & other subject areas?
Links are made with other subject areas wherever possible, particularly English, PSHE, Geography and Computing.
IMPACT of our History Curriculum:
We aim for our teaching of History to have a great impact on the lives of our children not only academically, but also in laying the foundations for social mobility through the promotion of British Values and SMSC and getting them ready for the next stages of their education.
Readiness for Next Stage of Education: How does this subject prepare our children for the next stage of their educational journey at secondary school & beyond?
We endeavour to ensure that the sequence of content enables our children to progress whilst they are with us, but also to provide the building blocks necessary to build on at secondary school and their learning journey beyond. Underlying all of this is our emphasis on Leaning Culture which provides the underlying principles of attitude, resilience & character.
Promotion of Social Mobility: How does this subject promote social mobility?
Our aim is that no child is disadvantaged by their background situation and that, as a school, we provide everything that a child needs so that there are no gaps in learning. As a result, we ensure that children have a broad range of curriculum experiences, free access to a wide variety of resources, regular opportunities to take part in historical enquiries, discussions and role-play.
Promotion of British Values & SMSC: How does this subject promote British Values & SMSC?
Through our rich and varied curriculum, we ensure that our children are well equipped for life in modern Britain and, through subject linkage have an excellent understanding of their own Historical background, Democracy, the Rule of Law, Responsibility and Liberty, Mutual Respect plus Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. Our Curriculum is driven by SMSC Development and, as a result, pupils thrive – enjoying their lives, learning and want to make a difference for others.
Assessment: How is History assessed?
- Teacher assessment
- Formal assessment – end of unit and end of year
- Observations
Monitoring & Evaluation: How do we know we have been successful?
- Lesson observations
- Work scrutiny
- Discussions
- Timetables
- PDM’s
Long Term Memory: How English impact on long term memory?
- Memorable experiences & visitors
- Revision & recapping
- Success Criteria
- Feedback / reflection from marking
- Curriculum Mats
- Links & connections with other subject areas plus old & new knowledge
- Learning Journals
