History
Subject Lead - Mr. Fagan
Salve, mihi nomen est Mr. Fagan (Hello, my name is Mr. Fagan written in Latin), history has always been a passion of mine; from reading Horrible History books as a child to studying ancient history at university where I obtained an undergraduate degree. I believe it is truly important to have a strong understanding of history, for within the history books lay our future. A single period of history can become an entire realm of learning in itself, from the Maya with their fabulous pyramids to the ancient Greeks ruling the world under the brave Alexander the Great.
“Education is the lighting of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” – Socrates (470-399 BCE)
an ancient Greek philosopher.
Curriculum Intent - This is what we want the children to learn.
At Holy Trinity CE Primary School, we inspire our pupils to find out more about the past by exciting their curiosity. Our curriculum covers the local area, national and internationally significant events and people.
Pupils are given a sense of time by ensuring that all history -led topics are placed within the chronology and context of a history timeline, using this to understand what concurrent historical topics occurred at the same time.
As a diverse community, we reflect this in the history we study, ensuring that ancient cultures from around the globe are represented and celebrated. Our history teaching equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments for bias, and develop perspective and judgement. These skills help pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Curriculum Implementation - This is how we will do it.
History is taught through topics using the cross-curricular ‘Cornerstones’ scheme. Through this scheme all pupils will cover the National Curriculum aims for primary school pupils so that by the end of Year 6, children will have a breadth and depth of knowledge about key periods in History, from Stone Age to present day. The key knowledge and skills of each topic are identified and progression across topics throughout each year group, and across the school is clear. Pupils will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. We are making an effort to link the topics together, showing their relation to other time periods we are studying. Teachers will plan enrichment activities linking to the topic: either visits to historical sites, museums and/or workshops in school led by historical acting groups.
There are also many cross-curricular opportunities in history-led topics, for example:
- studying a variety of historical evidence to include well-known pieces of music and artworks
- studying written historical sources
- writing balanced arguments and comparisons
- how the geographical features of a place led to settlement and defense.
Curriculum Impact - This is how we measure it.
Outcomes in pupil books show a range of historical objectives being taught and met. Pupils within the school will be aware of chronology in their lives and how their personal timeline matches to the timeline of our chosen topics within school. As pupils move through the school they are encouraged to empathise with historical figures and consider how one period relates to others in history, using comparison and by looking at how day to day lives are affected by certain periods in history. In history-led lessons, teachers place emphasis on analytical thinking and questioning which helps pupils deepen their understanding of themselves and others.