Intent

At Summercroft, we have designed our history curriculum with the intent that our children will:

• Possess a secure understanding of the chronology of the British Isles and other important periods of history.
• Become critical and analytical thinkers, with the confidence to ask questions and desire to know more.
• To discover links and connections to history they learn with the wider community and locality.
• To build on their prior knowledge, drawing similarities and differences within given time frames across previously taught history.

• To form strong links between historical and geographical concepts, exploring how these are layered across human civilization.
• To know how historians study the past and how accounts of the past have been constructed.
• To challenge ‘old’ ways of thinking based on new knowledge of historical time periods. 
• To form their own opinions and interpretations of the past.

Implementation

The teaching, learning and sequencing of the History curriculum at Summercroft is:

• A thematic, cross-curricular approach in a cycle of ‘main’ 6-week themes and ‘mini’ 3-week themes. Each of these themes have either a History or Geography core. For example, in Year 5 our current topic is about Malala Yousafzai as a significant figure, in which we will look at the past of the Indus Valley and compare to modern day Pakistan, we will also teach the children about the geographical location, why the Indus people settled near the river, and how the land has changed over time.
• Teachers curate lesson plans which draw upon past knowledge, skills and understanding and apply this in relatable subjects.
• In Early Years, historical understanding is initiated through topics which catch our youngest learners’ interests. They begin to realise that life has a past that happened before their existence- a concept which is so exciting!
• In KS1, the majority of the NC objectives have been covered several times to ensure children are secure in their historical knowledge and application of skills. For example, Year 1 cover changes in living memory across three of their subjects, which is then explored again in Year 2. This not only allows children to refresh their subject knowledge but allows children working below expected level to be exposed to the learning several times – revisiting and consolidating. Teachers help children bridge the gaps in learning connections and stretch and strengthen those ones already made.
• In KS1, historical skills focus on the world around the children in their living memory before moving on beyond living history. Our teachers ensure firm foundations for KS2 where contextual understanding and historical concepts are deeply embedded.

In KS2, children exercise their understanding of chronology both moving forwards and backwards in time, relevant to the time period being studied. Lessons are planned in order to teach the chronology, develop knowledge, recognise interpretations, increase use of relevant vocabulary and encourage historical enquiry.