Intent
At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, we value History as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. History is a subject that forms the foundation of our understanding of the culture in which we live as well as the wider world around us. Understanding the links between past and present is vital for a good understanding of communities, other people and ourselves.
During our autumn term, we aim to have children fully engage and to learn how to be a historian. We challenge students to think about history, what living in the past was like and how events are presented to them.
Implementation
During the autumn, history is our focus and a comprehensive history lesson is taught in each class each week. We ensure that history is given a place of importance in our time table in the autumn and is also used for themed weeks and cross-curricularly throughout the year.
At the start of the topic, teachers present their class with an enquiry question such as, ‘War – is it ever justified?' that is explored throughout the term. Teachers then use the skills and knowledge for history in the National Curriculum to build a progression of lessons on the topic. The outcomes of these lessons is cumulated in a creative way and showcased at the end of the term.
Impact
We want children to appreciate, understand and be curious about the past. The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at St Mary’s are equipped with historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in the wider world.
We want our pupils to have thoroughly enjoyed learning about history, therefore encouraging them to undertake new life experiences now and in the future.
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