History
History at Ladybridge Primary School.
The needs and backgrounds of our children, and the school’s core values, underpin all areas of our curriculum.
Intent
At Ladybridge Primary School it is our aim to instil in our pupils a love of history, a curiosity and fascination about history, which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We believe that the delivery of high quality history lessons will inspire our pupils to want to know more about the past and, in turn, enable them to think and act as historians, leading to a better understanding of the society in which they live. We aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for history, providing a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum that ensures the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skills from EYFS up to the end of KS2 that is inclusive of all pupils. Through the delivery of a high-quality history education, using the Learning Challenge/enquiry based curriculum as a platform, we want our pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We aim to provide our pupils with the appropriate historical vocabulary they need to note connections, contrasts and trends over time. We want them to develop the skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation, debate, interpretation, problem solving and presentation; skills they can one day deploy in all aspects of their lives.
Implementation
With our current year groups and mixed classes, we have implemented either a two (EYFS and KS1) or four (KS2) yearly cycle of lines of enquiry that ensure consistently high standards of teaching and learning in history and an assurance that all aspects, knowledge and skills of the subject are being taught progressively and in depth. History is taught as a series of lessons and, usually, on a half-termly basis. We use ‘Knowledge Organisers’ to map out each individual child’s learning. These outline the knowledge, key skills and historical vocabulary the children should master and, as pupils complete these, they are able to demonstrate their own interests and reflect on their own learning. Teachers incorporate these as and where possible, ensuring the engagement and commitment to learning we expect from all our pupils. Alongside this, differentiation and adaptation of delivery and/or recording ensure that all learners are able to progress. Families are encouraged to participate through homework projects linked to the history learning challenge line of enquiry and investigations farther afield are organised wherever possible.
Impact
By providing investigative and enquiry based learning opportunities in a supportive and collaborative environment, pupils at Ladybridge enjoy their history lessons and are inspired to follow their own interests and research independently. Standards are rising and evidenced in a variety of ways showing the range/coverage, depth, cross curricular links, knowledge, understanding and development of skills across year groups. Our pupils are equipped with the historical vocabulary needed to enable them to think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.
The success of our history curriculum is measured through regular assessment, ongoing throughout and at the end of a unit of work. This assessment can be in many different ways, including the scrutiny of children’s work/class book, formal and informal lesson observations, discussion with pupils (pupil voice), and displays. Outcomes and progress are tracked each year and monitored by the history subject co-ordinator. Feedback is given to all staff to facilitate professional development.