History

You can find out more about the taught content of our curriculum and the progression of skills in this document: History Curriculum Content and Progression Overview

From Brandlehow's History Policy:

At Brandlehow, a school with its own rich archeological history, we hold the teaching of History in high regard. We believe History should inspire pupils to learn about the world they live in and understand how it has changed over time. Giving children the opportunity to explore and research the actions of people and events in the past ensures that they are more able to develop their own ideas, beliefs and values. Our curriculum enables our pupils to become caring young people who have the skills to live in modern Britain as responsible citizens who understand themselves, the world, and know that they can be active participants in shaping the future.

Overall Intent

Our intent for History at Brandlehow is to: 

• foster children’s curiosity and understanding of events, places and people in a variety of times and environments;
• develop an interest and the past and an appreciation of human achievements;
• understand the values of our society and and that people of other times and places may have had different values and attitudes from ours;
• learn about the major issues and events in the history of our own country and of the world and how these events may have influenced each other
• develop a knowledge of chronology within which the children can organise their understanding of the past;
• understand the process of enquiry by developing the range of skills required to interpret primary and secondary source materials
• to distinguish between historical facts and the interpretation of those facts

Key Stage 1

Intent

In Key Stage 1, our intent is for children to develop an understanding of people’s lives and lifestyles. They will focus on significant men, women, children and events from the past and more distant past in Britain and the wider world. Enquiry skills will be developed by listening and responding to stories and using sources of information to help them ask and answer questions. Children will begin to learn how the past is different from the present, and be able to communicate their ideas through: written work, pictures and work uploaded to seesaw.

Key Stage 2

Intent

In Key Stage 2, we aim for children to build upon the historical skills introduced in Key Stage 1, whilst also engaging in more independent historical enquiry. Children will investigate history in a variety of ways, for example: political, economic, technological, scientific, social, religious or cultural perspectives. They will use different sources of information to help them investigate the past both in depth and in overview, using dates and historical vocabulary to describe events, people and developments. By the end of Year 6, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. They will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives.

Key Stage 1 and 2

Implementation 

The teaching of History at Brandlehow is enquiry led with topics centred around key questions. Children are encouraged to think critically, weigh evidence and arguments to develop perspective and judgement, and to ask perceptive questions of their own. History is taught as part of the thematic curriculum at Brandlehow. Each year group will spend a minimum of one term studying a history focused module. In other instances, History  is taught discreetly in line with Topic, as well as being integrated into other curriculum areas. Wherever possible, cross curricular outcomes in history are specifically planned for, with strong links between the history curriculum and English lessons to enable further contextual learning. A main enquiry question drives each topic at Brandlehow, with pre-planned questions integrated into each lesson to shape our teaching and learning. 

In order to reflect the increasing diversity of our school community and the wider world, we have recently undertaken a review of the history topics studied across Key Stages 1 and 2. To ensure national curriculum coverage, whilst also broadening our History provision, topics are now mapped out in a 1 year cycle. The new topics  are informed by the National Curriculum (2014) and have been adapted in response to feedback from a working group of Years 4 - 6, as well as the context of the local area. 

In Key Stages 1 and 2, children will have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities, and will be exposed to a variety of resources. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Access to, and the ability to handle artefacts via the Wandsworth Resource Centre
• Take part in visits to museums and places of historical interest.
• Access to primary and secondary sources, such as books, photographs and reports.
• Opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions.
• Listen to and interact with stories from the past.
• Undertake fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives.
• Look at or independently use resources from the internet and videos.
• Use drama, music and dance to act out and gain further understanding of historical events.
• Use non-fiction books for research.

Equal Opportunities:

We recognise that all children within our community have an entitlement to all aspects of the foundation subjects offered within the curriculum. We aim to provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the activity to the needs of the child. This can be achieved by: 

• setting common tasks which explore different outcomes
• setting tasks with extensions and challenges
• providing resources to scaffold and support learning depending upon the ability of the child
• Grouping of children in a range of ways to ensure learning is continuously influenced by a differing range of thought, belief and cultures.
• Classroom assistants support children either individually or in groups to scaffold their knowledge and development of skills.