History

Ambition

At Pineham Barns Primary School, our children are provided with a bespoke curriculum which enables them to become inquisitive and confident individuals, with a coherent understanding of key historical moments in British and World history. It is through the progressive development of skills and vocabulary, Celebration Days, and unique trips and visits, that our children develop a love for History and the confidence to understand how key events have shaped the world in which we live today.

Implementation

Our progressive historical content is designated as follows:

Year One: Victorians – Children explore the reign of Queen Victoria and the lives of those living in that period.

Year Two: Monarchy madness – Year Two children further investigate and compare the lives of key royal monarchs, the Great Fire of London and the Plague, making comparisons between our lives and the lives of people at that time.

Year Three: Ancient Civilisations (Egyptians, Mayans and Greeks) – Children investigate what ancient civilisations looked like, how they were ruled, how they lived and traded; what they achieved and the impact of this on future civilisations.

Year Four: Romans and Vikings – Year Four children consider how the British Isles were shaped by our Roman and Viking conquerors – battles and resistance, key individuals and what life was like for the Britons and the Celts.

Year Five: World at War (WW1 and WW2) – Children reflect on how the Great Wars came about, the role of leaders and parliament; impact on life for those at home and abroad; similarities and differences between the wars.

Year Six: Vietnam and the 60s – Year Six children understand key events that led to the Vietnam War and how this impacted those living in Vietnam then and now, whilst comparing this to previous learning of the World Wars, exploring opposing viewpoints and recognising cause and consequence.

The bespoke curriculum at Pineham Barns, provides opportunities for children to:

• Understand different models of leadership and government.
• Be discerning about historical sources and recognise the impact of partiality within this.
• Recognise similarities and differences across historical periods.
• Ask questions and make judgements based on evidence.
• Recognise that modern life has been built on the success and failures of a vast period on human history.

Alongside their knowledge curriculum, our children are encouraged to develop their historical enquiry skills year on year. We enable this through our unique skills grid that organises enquiry skills into year groups to ensure that children advance their ability to analyse and interpret history.

Each year progresses on the previous enabling children the opportunity to practise and consolidate a set of skills before progressing them the following year. Furthermore, a progressive skill grid enables staff to further support or challenge each child’s learning as necessary to ensure a personalised learning journey.

History Impact

Our children develop a love of History through the innovative and engaging learning experiences provided. As they progress through the curriculum, they are exposed to number of viewpoints, enabling them to debate key moments in history and understand the impact of these on modern society. As a result, we are preparing them with the ability to think outside the box and creatively, whilst understanding the importance of perspective and rationality.