History
At Bushbury Lane Academy, we aim to deliver a high quality history curriculum, through exciting and engaging lessons that help students gain a solid understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
Intent
We aim to not only equip our children with key historical skills, such as the ability to ask perceptive questions or weigh evidence to form an argument, but we strive to equip our children with historical curiosity; a desire to want to know all about the past of these islands and beyond.
We develop children with the following essential characteristics to help them become historians:
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An excellent knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from a range of historical periods, including significant events in Britain’s past and their own locality;
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Learning about the concept of chronology, which underpins children's developing sense of period, as well as key concepts such as cause and consequence.
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The ability to think critically about history and communicate ideas confidently, and in a variety of ways, to a range of audiences;
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The ability to support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using historical evidence from a range of sources;
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The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past by formulating and refining questions and lines of enquiry;
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A respect for historical evidence and the ability to make critical use of it to support their learning;
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A developing sense of curiosity about the past and how and why people interpret the past in different ways;
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The understanding of historical concepts such as continuity and change, similarity, difference and significance and the ability to use this understanding to form arguments, make connections, frame historically valid questions and construct historically valid responses.
How is History taught?
Teachers are provided with support to plan their curriculum through our school’s CPD offer, inset days and staff meetings. History is taught through Cornerstones Curriculum Knowledge Rich Projects. These projects and inspiring and engaging, and provide children with opportunities to learn and grow as successful historians. Knowledge and skills are taught in detail during projects that are History based for two terms out of the year, and refreshed in less detail during projects that have a geography focus.
To facilitate this learning process, teachers plan the following:
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A sequence of learning which builds on prior knowledge, skills and understanding;
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Opportunities to explore, understand and use technical vocabulary related to History;
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A well thought out sequence of lessons for each subject that results in progression and depth;
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‘Engage’ days at the beginning of each topic to promote a love and curiosity of history.
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Opportunities to handle and explore artefacts to gain an understanding of how historical sources tell the story of the past.
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Lessons that ensure all learners; disadvantaged, SEND, boys and girls, are able to access, enjoy and make progress in history.
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Educational visits and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience;
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A means to display and celebrate the pupils’ work in their class and a way to share their learning with parents and the local community.
Teachers are provided with support to plan their curriculum through our school’s CPD offer, inset days and staff meetings. History is taught through Cornerstones Curriculum Knowledge Rich Projects. These projects and inspiring and engaging, and provide children with opportunities to learn and grow as successful historians. Knowledge and skills are taught in detail during projects that are
Impact
Our History Curriculum is of high quality, well thought out and is planned to ensure progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good progress in line with age related expectations.
In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
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A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
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A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school;
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Pupil discussions about their learning - which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work;
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Termly assessment against the five areas; Chronological understanding; Understanding of past events, people and changes in the past; Historical interpretation and enquiry; Organisation and communication; Knowledge, to assess if the child is working at age related expectations for History.
