History

History subject coordinator – Mrs Baker

Intent

At Moat Farm Infant School we want to promote children’s curiosity about the past. We aim to teach children the required skills to explore historical events and people. Children are encouraged to use these skills to work as historians to interpret the past. We want children to ask questions, use evidence to create their own judgements, have a better understanding of chronology and think critically about the past.

Our curriculum is designed to help children to think reflectively about British history and their own personal history. Through learning different topics, children are exposed and encouraged to use a range of subject specific vocabulary. Children are encouraged to compare and contrast different events and significant people previously taught. The curriculum is enriched through historical visits, visitors and events held in school.

Implementation

In history, we learn through enquiry and children are encouraged to behave like historians. They have access or are shown real artefacts, secondary sources such as photographs, non-fiction books for research, videos and the internet. Children use these to help them ask questions, investigate and draw their own conclusions about things that have happened in the past. After the topic has been taught it is revisited for quizzes and discussions. Also, children are encouraged to investigate topics at home with their families via homework.

In Key Stage 1, children have a timeline displayed in each classroom which is added to and follows them through school. Each topic taught is plotted on this timeline and revisited. This helps children to understand chronology of events and compare what has happened in and out of living memory. It also helps teachers to understand children’s’ prior knowledge.

When planning, teachers use the history subject overview, history progression document in combination with Chris Quigley targets. Teachers use Chris Quigley targets to assess understanding, identify gaps in knowledge and plan next steps for children.

Impact

Our design of History at Moat Farm Infant school helps children to work like historians. By covering key concepts and skills thoroughly helps children to be able to;
• have a better understanding of chronology and be able to use historical vocabulary to describe time.
• be curious about the past and ask effective questions.
• have a wider knowledge and understanding of British history, their own family history and key events.
• begin to think critically, make judgement and voice opinions.
These things combined help children to understand changes over time, create a sense of identity, be inspired and learn lessons from events in the past.

Last year in EYFS
85% of children met the expected standard for Past and Present.
Last year in Key Stage One
93% of children met the expected standard for History.

Non-negotiables for History

• In KS1, topics in history are led with a main key question. At the end of each topic, children should be given the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and the answer to their key question.
• We all learn about events from the past and significant people in history.
• The learning ladybird is shared with the children at the beginning of every lesson.
• In KS1, history is documented in floor books. For individual work, each child has their own history book in year 1, this goes up with them to year 2 so children and staff can reflect on prior learning.
• In EYFS, learning is captured in class floor books, these are labelled as understanding the world. Individual incidentals during play are captured in learning journeys.
• Specific history vocabulary should be evident on working walls where appropriate.
• We all provide children with SEND access to the curriculum through adapted planning and resource support.
• In KS1, children consolidate learning in every history session by including a retrieval quiz at the start.
• Teachers assess their children every term.

End of Key Stage expectations for History

By the end of EYFS pupils will demonstrate the following:
Children at the expected level of development will:
• Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society
Can they talk about their families? Who they are? What they do?
• Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
How were the lives of their older family members different?
• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

By the end of Key Stage 1 pupils will demonstrate the following:
• Be able to recall significant historical events, people and how they are different to life today.
• Be able to explain changes in living memory, with a focus on how aspects of national life have changed.
• Be able to explain and discuss events beyond living memory that were significant both nationally and globally.
• They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

Books that inspire history – Click one to enjoy