History
Statement of Intent
The aim of our curriculum at Horfield is to fire up children’s imagination and natural curiosity about the world in which they live and their place in it. Through our teaching of History, we aim to develop an understanding and appreciation of the past. We want children to know more, understand more and remember more about History so that they can move beyond just a memorisation of facts and figures and start to see how the past has shaped the world in which we live in.
We aim to provide pupils with a broad and balanced view of History in Britain, other societies and epochs, whilst teaching pupils to develop the skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and communication so that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on.
We intend that through the study of History at Horfield, children gain a sense of perspective and a contextual understanding of human endeavour. This includes high-level concepts and higher order thinking skills including questioning and interpreting evidence. There is very much an enquiry-based approach to History. We work to ensure that children build on key concepts (change and continuity, cause and consequence and similarities and differences) and vocabulary (monarchy, empire, sources, artefacts etc) as they progress through the school. We want children to identify as historians and understand how the past is studied, interpreted and presented in the real world.
Implementation
At Horfield we follow the Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work 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, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence.
Through the Kapow scheme, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time. History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes. Kapow Primary's History scheme aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History.
In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, our 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. Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of Key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum and the aims also align with those set out in the National curriculum.
Over the course of the scheme, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:
- Change and continuity.
- Cause and consequence.
- Similarities and differences.
- Historical significance.
- Historical interpretations.
- Sources of evidence.
These concepts will be encountered in different contexts during the study of local, British and world history. Accordingly, children will have varied opportunities to learn how historians use these skills to analyse the past and make judgements. They will confidently develop and use their own historical skill set. As children progress through the Kapow scheme, they will create their own historical enquiries to study using sources and the skills they have developed.
Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, are introduced in Key stage 1, clearly identified in Lower key stage 2 and revisited in Upper key stage 2 allowing knowledge of these key concepts to grow. These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are crucial to their future learning in History.
The Kapow scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. For example, children progress by developing their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of historical contexts and periods.
History in Action videos explain the careers and work of those in history and heritage-related fields. Historians, archivists, archaeologists, museum curators, teachers and heritage experts discuss their love of history, how they became interested in the subject, how they got into their jobs and what their jobs involve.
Lessons are designed to be varied, engaging and hands-on, allowing children to experience the different aspects of an historical enquiry. In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider world. Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied. Guidance for how to adapt the teaching is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts, concepts and vocabulary.
Kapow Primary History is a copyrighted scheme of work so we are unable to publish the progression documents on our website. If you would like to know more about the History curriculum at Horfield please contact the school office.
