At Townville Infant and Nursery School, we aspire to offer the best possible early education for all our children in a happy, safe, inclusive environment.
Through our history curriculum we aim to ensure our children:
- Understand that History is the study of the past and changes over time.
- Inspire their curiosity to know more about the past and how the process of change has impacted on the world they live in today.
- Develop as keen historians, exploring simple methods of historical enquiry whilst enhancing their ability to question and think critically.
- Gain an excellent knowledge of their own history, that of their family, our monarchy, and significant events of both a national and global scale.
- Reflect and use the knowledge they have gained through studies of significant people and events to be able to describe, make links and evaluate similarities and differences, particularly over time.
- Have the knowledge and understanding to celebrate the unique characteristics of British society and help them to appreciate the impact of human creativity and achievement over time.
This builds upon the children’s prior knowledge gained through the foundation stage for History where children:
- Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.
- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
Our Key Stage One curriculum builds upon children’s historical learning in the EYFS ensuring full coverage of National Curriculum programs of study through carefully constructed progression maps. Our curriculum design offers children the ability to revisit and build upon prior knowledge so that they know and remember more whilst gaining the key skills needed to continue their journeys as historians through Townville Infants and beyond.
At Townville Infant and Nursery School, History is taught through a 2-year rolling program designed to inspire children’s curiosity to know more about the past and to develop as keen historians. Our choice of historical periods reflects the guidance set out in the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, with specific detail relating to significant events and individuals to reflect the richness and diversity of their own history, that of their family, our monarchy, and significant events of both a national and global scale.
As early historians children, children in the EYFS will talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society; know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class and understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
Through our carefully planned and sequenced curriculum, we provide children the specific historical knowledge and skills needed to deepen, challenge and enhance their thinking as historians whilst ensuring that key concepts such as the process of change, chronology, similarity and difference and significance are revisited within each project, allowing them ample opportunities to revisit, reinforce and embed their learning.
Each year, children study two History specific projects lasting a full term and will revisit and revise their historical knowledge and skills within the third term as a result of our cross-curricular, thematic curriculum design. Through the development of our knowledge, skills and vocabulary progression document and our curriculum map, we ensure that teachers are clear on the learning and expectations for their classes so that curriculum content is delivered in a progressive and sequential manner enabling children to continually build upon their prior knowledge and skills whilst ensuring underlying principles and meanings of subject specific vocabulary are taught and understood.
Within each History lesson, children are explicitly told that they are working as ‘historians’ and are reminded of the key knowledge and skills they will learn, use and develop throughout their History lessons before being introduced to and reminded of key vocabulary. Children then spend time revisiting and reviewing prior learning before being introduced to new concepts, knowledge or skills. Our lesson design ensures that children are provided with ample opportunity to consolidate, build upon and apply taught knowledge and skills whilst developing their ability to question and think critically. Ongoing assessment of the children’s knowledge and skills is used by class teachers to ensure that misconceptions are addressed, and next steps carefully planned for therefore enabling each child to make progress.
History teaching is monitored regularly using a variety of strategies, such as book looks, lesson observations, feedback and pupil interviews. Throughout the delivery of each project, the subject coordinator will gather information regarding the children’s outcomes and work collaboratively with the curriculum lead to plan appropriate next steps for future learning, as well as to provide an overview of teaching and learning within History across school.
As a result of our carefully and skillfully sequenced, planned and taught History curriculum, children will:
- Understand that History is the study of the past and changes over time.
- Be inspired and curious to further develop their knowledge about the past and how the process of change has impacted on the world they live in today.
- Continue to develop as keen historians, with a passion to build upon the simple methods of historical enquiry they have been taught and to further enhance their questioning and analytical thinking skills.
- Secure an excellent knowledge of their own history, that of their family, our monarchy, and significant events of both a national and global scale.
- Reflect and use their knowledge and skills to build upon their learning throughout their next stage of education
- Have the knowledge and understanding to celebrate the unique characteristics of British society and to appreciate the impact of human creativity and achievement over time.
Townville children will meet the end of Key Stage 1 National curriculum outcomes and will have a strong foundation of on which to build and further develop their historical knowledge and skills
