History is the study of people and events that happened in the past. People trained in history are called historians.

Leader: Balraj Ryves

Intent

At Frimley, we aim to inspire children to be curious and creative thinkers who love history. We aim to provide immersive and memorable experiences for every child, to bring the past to life so that they can develop a secure knowledge of local and national history and history of the wider world. We want children to develop as historians with the confidence to think critically and ask questions and the ability to explain and analyse historical evidence. 

The history curriculum aims to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in British and local history as well as the wider world. The study of history will help develop children’s appreciation of the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationship between different groups. It will explore reasons why people behave in the way they do, support the development of empathy for others and provide opportunities to learn from positive contributions as well as past mistakes. 

We believe it is important for the children to develop a sense of chronology and to be aware of how past events have shaped and influenced our lives today. We expect children to be able to place events, people and changes into correct periods of time, as well as use dates and vocabulary appropriately. We believe it is important for them to develop a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain and the world around them, as well as ensuring learning is relatable to them by learning about the history of our local area.

We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries.

To prepare children for future learning in history in KS3 and beyond, they will be introduced to concepts such as power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, trade and achievements of humankind, society and culture.

Implementation

• We use a mastery-based curriculum that is progressive and broken into modules.
• Teachers deploy the Rosenshine principles to support the teaching and learning process: reviews of previous learning, new information is presented in small steps, high-level questioning, carefully-considered models, guided practice, checks for pupil understanding, obtainment of a high success rate, scaffolds for difficult tasks, opportunities for independent practice and reviews of learning over extended periods. 
• The substantive knowledge strands of topic knowledge, chronological awareness and substantive concepts along with the disciplinary strands historical enquiry and disciplinary concepts are interwoven across all units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow children to investigate history as historians do.
• British history is taught in a chronological order from Year 3 to Year 6 to support their understanding of chronology and allowing them to identify connections, contrasts and trends over time.
• Units are organised around a subsumer in the form of an enquiry-based question and follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate and conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions.
• Learning tasks and enquiries are designed to develop children’s understanding of change and continuity, cause and consequence, similarities and differences, historical significances, historical interpretations and sources of evidence – these concepts will be encountered when studying local, British and world history and children will have opportunities to learn how historians use these skills.
• Regular retrieval opportunities are mapped out to continually build on children’s historical knowledge and skills.
• Lessons will provide opportunities for children to make connections to a big picture or previous learning, to encounter new knowledge and skills, to demonstrate understanding by applying new knowledge and skills and to consolidate their learning.  
• End of unit assessments are used to assess the children’s understanding of crucial content; this informs future teaching and areas of focus for retrieval.
• Links to careers in the history field are made to show how children’s learning links to the wider world of work.
• As well as learning walks to observe teaching and learning, the Book Study approach is used to monitor the effectiveness of the history curriculum, teaching and learning, to identify strengths and areas for development in provision and to garner pupil voice.
• Throughout KS2, children will engage in a range of experiences that enhance their learning in history: these include workshops, the use of a variety of primary and secondary resources, such as artefacts, to help the children find clues and deduce information about the past, theatre experiences and school trips.

Impact

Children will:

• Know and understand the history of Britain and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind.
• Have a secure understanding of chronology from prehistoric periods to modern day.
• Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts - power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind and society.
•  Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.
• Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.
• Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.
• Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.
• Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.
• Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.
• Demonstrate a secure understanding of a unit’s crucial learning, skills and knowledge in the end of unit assessment.
• Understand how their learning in history links to the wider world of work.
• Meet the relevant end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key stage 2.