History

'For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.'

Romans 15:4

Mission Statement

Our mission is to work to develop the full potential of each individual in an environment where the Gospel values of love, peace, truth and justice are lived out.

The Aims of History at St Mary’s are:

• To foster and promote a love and enthusiasm for History and learning about the past.
• To enable pupils to make links and identify connections between different time periods, societies, events and developments
• To ignite a curiosity in pupils to learn about the past and make sense of the world they live in

Implementation

Each year group studies 2 History units throughout the year broadly following a chronological path, building on prior learning and knowledge. We teach a mixture of British and world history in each year group. Pupils are encouraged to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, assess sources, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgment. Wherever possible teachers use trips/ visits, visitors, artefacts, photographs and the local and wider community and environment to engage pupils’ interest and imagination and enrich our curriculum offer. A clear, structured learning path enables pupils by the end of year 6 to have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to present day.

Cultural Capital

Children will develop an informed historical perspective on their world, learning about key figures and events from history ranging from King Alfred the Great to Winston Churchill. They will develop an understanding of changes over time in people, places, landscape and culture through studying British history interlinked with studies of world history and classical civilisations.  Our broad curriculum develops an understanding of democracy, governance, monarchy, citizenship and law, as well as rights and responsibilities, moral and social issues.

British Values

The fundamental British Values are evident throughout the history curriculum as children learn about the development of democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty. Through history pupils will begin to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change and the diversity of societies and relationships, developing a respect and tolerance for others and celebrating differences.

Useful websites and resources

• As a school we subscribe to Discovery Education, where there is a vast range of resources on just about everything. Pupils can access this from home to supplement and extend their learning in History:

https://app.discoveryeducation.co.uk/learn/signin?UR=S

• The History Association has a list of links to websites and resources, sorted by historical topic:

https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3620/primary-topic-websites

• Primary Homework Help gives information on a range of primary history topics, written specifically for primary children using accessible language:

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/history/index.html

• BBC Bitesize has a range of helpful videos and activities for both Key Stage 1 and 2:

KS1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zkqmhyc

KS2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zcw76sg

• BBC Horrible Histories provides a fun way of looking at some key historical events and figures:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories

• com focuses on some key ancient history and world history topics:

https://www.ducksters.com/history/

• History for kids is a one-stop shop for information, videos, worksheets and quizzes on a range of history topics:

https://www.historyforkids.net/