Curriculum
History
Curriculum intent, implementation, and impact
Intent
“People without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” M. Garvey
History at Hadley Learning Community inspires all children to develop and build a clear, chronological understanding of the past across Britain and the Wider World. It provides opportunities for children’s curiosities to grow, as well as strengthen their understanding and respect for the present day world we live in. Our teaching allows children to succeed in thinking critically, ask perceptive questions, weigh up evidence and form well-informed judgements using sources and their own opinions. By delving deeper into the complexities of people’s lives and the significant events that have shaped them, our pupils embed a strong appreciation of the process and impact of change, the diversity of communities and the relationships and respect between them.
As pupils progress through school, they establish a strong knowledge of how periods in history are connected and in turn recognise how the modern world they know has evolved. Exposure to a wide range of enjoyable and relevant topics, which are specifically chosen to reflect our wider community to further foster a sense of belonging. We learn about our locality and how it has developed over time, both within Hadley and the wider Telford area. From the early years through to year 6, all pupils strengthen their skills as historians through both in class and external learning opportunities, whereby visits and experiences enrich their understanding of both historical knowledge and concepts such as change and continuity and cause and consequence.
Our curriculum is designed to inspire future historians and develop their respect for how any individual has the power to achieve and inspire change through close study of incredible people and their successes across a wide breadth of historical periods.
Implementation
The history curriculum at Hadley Learning Community is structured to enable pupils to establish a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day, as well as important historical periods from around the world including Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. In the EYFS, pupils learn about their personal histories through ‘Understanding the World’, looking at their families, birthdays other important dates and family celebrations. Pupils in Key Stage 1 study local and modern history within the 20th and 21st Century and relate this to their own lives. Key Stage 2 develops chronologically from the Stone Age to World War II allowing children to make links and draw comparisons using their rich knowledge of different time periods and those which occurred simultaneously. Our history curriculum is designed to reflect our community, and we deliver a bespoke offer of Victorian Hadley to year 4 and the Islamic Empire in year 6 to provide pupils with an opportunity to develop their understanding of their personal and cultural histories. The history provision at HLC has a strong emphasis on people and innovation and allows for the development of historical thinking, skill development and independent critical learners.
Through cross curricular planning, there are contextual learning opportunities for children to strengthen their knowledge of historical topics through literacy and class novels. History in essence embeds the reading skills of inference and retrieval which come to the forefront when studying and analysing sources during each history topic.
Consideration is given and demonstrated within each history lesson to ensure all pupils can access the learning and apply this to answer a historical question as their end point. This is done by encouraging pupils to follow their own interests in historical lines of enquiry and research, and by asking questions to deepen their thinking to draw comparisons and conclusions where necessary. To support SEND pupils, resources are adapted or scaffolds are implemented to enable them to access learning which can include writing frames, QR code recording of verbal explanations, visuals and scribed quotations; this is in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion.
Impact
We measure the impact of our history curriculum by:
- End of sequence quizzing to analyse knowledge retention
- Pupil voice both before and after sequences of learning, to gain an understanding of children’s knowledge and enjoyment of each history topic
- Flashbacks highlight whether pupil’s historical understanding that has been embedded in their long term memory
- Parent voice reflects pupil’s engagement in their history learning and how it has inspired them both in school and at home
- Staff questionnaires influence curriculum adaptations and support where needed
- RAG ratings on action plans
- Data which recognises progress in both knowledge and skills
By the time children leave HLC they will:
- Have developed a sense of awe and wonder about history and how our modern ways of living has been influenced by events in the past.
- Be able to communicate their knowledge and articulate connections between different periods of time.
- Developed critical thinking skills through source analysis and questioning.
- Have experienced history in a relatable, real-life capacity through visits and in school experiences
- Have developed a respect for both their own community and those in the wider world.
