History

Aim: That pupils understand and learn from the past.

The curriculum drivers: Vocabulary, Identity, Locality and Personality (VILP) tackle the challenges our pupils face and are interwoven throughout the learning.

Vocabulary: Pupils need the language of chronology and the key vocabulary of the ages to be able to interpret and justify assertions about the past

Identity: To know ourselves now we can draw on the learning from the past. This helps us build confidence in ourselves and builds resilience when challenged.

Locality: Our local history defines our community and we are part of that community. We can develop aspiration from the successes of the past and drive ourselves going forward.

Personality: We learn from those who went before us and this helps us build ourselves, as people with confidence and develops an enjoyment of life.

Our curriculum is structured and supported through the use of a published scheme – Kapow Primary’s History scheme. We have chosen this scheme 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. 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.

We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. Through our curriculum, 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. Our History curriculum 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. 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. In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, our curriculum introduces the key substantive concepts of power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.

History is taught as a discrete subject in blocked units.