History 3Is

Throckley Primary School History – Intent, Implementation and Impact Intent At Throckley Primary School, we value our high-quality history curriculum. A purposeful history education allows children to understand the wider world through studying past societies and events. We know that having a rich and broad history curriculum enables children to understand the present by learning about the past. History at Throckley allows children to ask perceptive questions, think critically and develop their own judgement. Our children are taught about a range of complex and different societies and thus are encouraged to think deeply about their own identities. Our history curriculum is driven by our curriculum drivers and key concepts: Understanding our place in the world To understand why we live as we do today, we must look to the past. Therefore, learning about how our society has developed over time can help children comprehend their place in the world. Furthermore, at Throckley, we place a strong emphasis on learning about the history of our local area. Exploring the history of their locality makes the learning for the children tangible and exciting. We also understand the importance of a history curriculum that encompasses local, national and international history. Ensuring that our curriculum explores all three is vital to a rich history education as it allows the children to make important connections and comparisons across world history. In turn, providing the children with the knowledge to understand where they fit within the wider world.

Aspiring to achieve Learning about incredible historical figures ensures the children at Throckley have high aspirations and feel inspired during their history lessons. At Throckley, we know that having a wide range of role models is extremely important as it means every child can see themselves in a successful historical figure. In turn, this allows all children to feel that their dreams are achievable because someone similar to them has done it before. Furthermore, we take pride in our Black History Month and look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day. Both these events, allow children access to a variety of inspiring historical figures.

Broadening horizons Our history curriculum aims to develop curiosity and enthusiasm about British and world history. At Throckley, the children are exposed to a wide variety of historical societies, ranging from The Victorians to the Ancient Mayans. Furthermore, the children’s horizons are broadened at every opportunity in history by exploring the achievements of different civilisations.

Empire At Throckley Primary School, we have three historical concepts that are woven through our history curriculum. Empire is an extremely important concept because it is integral to British and world history. Empire is an abstract idea and hard to comprehend. Therefore, we introduce this concept slowly and carefully. In KS1, we begin by identifying the British monarchy and what it means to be a ruler of one country. In KS2, we begin to explore why countries, civilisations and rulers have felt the need to expand their empire’s. Furthermore, as the

children progress through the school they begin to develop their understanding of empire and are able to apply it to the historical periods that they are studying.

Innovation History has been driven by innovation and we believe it is important that our children recognise this. In each era that they study, children will be able to identify how the innovations of the time affected and changed society. In turn, this allows the children to assess the impact of new inventions and consider how new technologies may affect and change our society today.

Civilisation Our final historical concept is civilisation. At Throckley, the children are exposed to a wide variety of civilisations. We believe this is key to expanding their understanding of the world.

Therefore, the children learn about British, European and wider world civilisations during their time at Throckley. This enables children to make effective comparisons between the civilisations they study because as they move through school, they gain a greater understanding of how different people have lived during history. The children are able to evaluate what makes a civilisation successful by drawing on their knowledge of the civilisations they have studied. Furthermore, they can link this to their own civilisation, in order to asses how they can make their world a better place.

Our history curriculum aims to ensure that all children make progress as they move through school by developing a secure understanding of the block of knowledge that they are studying.

Alongside this, we hope that our children develop a greater understanding of the historical concepts and the chronology of their study as they move through the key stages. At Throckley, history is cross-curricular and is taught across a range of subjects, allowing the children to make effective links. The Throckley OWLs (Our Wonderful Learners) support positive learning behaviours in history and across the school, which prepares the children for success in the wider world.

Implementation At Throckley Primary School we follow the National Curriculum for History while also taking into account the individual needs of learners across school. We place a high value on revisiting key knowledge and key concepts at Throckley. Our long term plans indicate where class teachers should be revisiting prior knowledge with their children. Our knowledge organisers are a useful tool for class teachers, who are able to use these to guide their lessons and decide where they are revisiting and recalling prior learning. Therefore, at every stage of development, we are encouraging our children to reflect on their prior knowledge and understanding. As well as this, purposeful links are made across other subjects to ensure that the children’s knowledge is consolidated.

At Throckley, we value high-quality talk and questioning. We see this as integral to the history curriculum. Children must be taught how to articulate their ideas and answers. The National Curriculum addresses the importance of children being equipped with the vocabulary of the past, meaning they are able to use common words and phrases to describe the passing of time. At Throckley, we encourage the children to use this vocabulary from EYFS and, by the time they get to Year 6, they are able to effectively explain the chronology of the periods they have studied.

Understanding the methods of historical enquiry is interwoven within our history lessons across year groups. From KS1, children are able to explain how historical artefacts have been found. As they move up the school, the children are able to differentiate between primary and

secondary sources. Children are able to evaluate historical accounts and consider why events have been interpreted differently by different people. Furthermore, at Throckley we place a huge emphasis on source analysis and interpretation.

What will I see if I visit a history lesson in Throckley Primary School?

Creative, dynamic and passionate teachers: individual class teachers decide which trips, activities and tasks will best engage the children. Class teachers also work together to bring the history curriculum to life, utilising physical primary sources, which allow the children to be transported to the period of study.

Clear, detailed explanations and modelling: At Throckley, we tailor our teaching to individual needs. The use of WAGOLLs and WABOLLs (What a good/bad one looks like) means that expectations are clear. Children are taught to use secondary sources, written by historians in order to identify the key components for success. Thus, allowing the children to discover the tools needed to become a successful historian. Secondary sources are appropriately differentiated so that every child is able to access historical opinion, in order to inform their own.

Quality talk: Throughout school, historical talk is vital in order for the children to develop their own ideas. Children are taught talk moves, including how to agree, disagree, support, challenge and summarise. Analysing historical voices through secondary sources helps broaden the children’s understanding of an area of study whilst also helping them to form their own opinion based on what has already been written.

Skilful teacher questioning: a commitment to staff training in this area has led to a teaching team that is skilled in using questioning to support learners in reaching their potential. A mix of strategies allow class teachers to direct questions to individuals where necessary, or use a ‘no hands up approach’ to allow children to contribute freely. As well as teacher questioning, children are encouraged to pose questions and are supported with differentiated sentence stems. In particular, when examining primary sources in order to help clarify their understanding of an area of study and continue to foster historical excitement at the prospect of uncovering more detail about an artefact.

Spaced retrieval of key learning: Across school, teachers employ a range of strategies, which support children in the recall and retention of key knowledge. Historical knowledge organisers are used to help embed knowledge. Historical areas of study are constantly revisited throughout the year and also throughout school. Historical timelines are displayed in every class and incorporate learning from previous years. This allows children to cement their understanding of historical chronology.

Clear learning intentions and tasks, which are appropriately challenging: We value Blooms Taxonomy framework, which underpins learning sequences in history. Our history curriculum has been carefully mapped out, in order to support both pupils and staff. Our aim is for children to remember key knowledge, but also to develop a full understanding of it in order to then apply this in context, creating authentic outcomes, which draw on their learning experience over time.

Authentic experience: all activities within and without school are supporting our key driver of ‘Broadening Horizons.’ The excitement of these experiences help secure the children’s knowledge of the period they are studying. Trips and in school events are carefully planned to ensure that the children feel immersed within their area of historical study.

Resilient, independent learners: children are taught metacognitive strategies, including how to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning. These skills allow the children to successfully evaluate not only their own learning but also secondary historical sources. Children are

encouraged to analyse historical writing, critiquing, challenging and evaluating in order to develop key historical skills.

Our Wonderful Learners (OWLs) have been created to support children’s metacognitive development. Our OWLs encapsulate six learning behaviours, which we believe are integral to success both in history and beyond. OWLs are utilised within history lessons to support children in different tasks. Children are challenged to think about what OWL can help them the most when approaching different tasks in history.

Beautiful Work: driven by our value of ‘pride’, we teach children the importance of wellpresented, carefully planned work. Displays across school (such as Black History Month) celebrate this success and the children are taught to feel proud of their achievements

Impact At Throckley Primary School, the success of our history curriculum is evident in the excitement that the children have for the world around them. Children show extensive curiosity for the periods they have studied and are enthusiastic to further their own knowledge with their own research. At Throckley, the children retain a deep understanding of the historical knowledge they have learned, as well as this, they retain a comprehensive awareness of the historical concepts that they have been introduced to during their time here. They carry this inquisitiveness with them beyond their time at Throckley Primary School. Our history curriculum, ensures that children learn through first-hand experiences via exciting activities in and outside of school. This ensures that the children have a deep understanding of how history has shaped our current society, allowing them to fathom the process of change and how they have ultimately shaped their own identities.

Using the knowledge organises for each historical area of study, teachers are able to regularly assess the children formatively. Teachers are able to use the history progression statements to guide the children’s sequence of learning and assess what each standard looks like for each year group and objective. Progress and outcomes are decided upon using a combination of summative assessments, formative evaluation and evidence over time in children’s books.

At Throckley, the children’s progress against statutory knowledge and skills objectives is tracked and recorded by teachers using SIMs assessment. Likewise, pupil-book study is a fantastic tool for subject leaders who are able to use it to monitor historical learning from EYFS to Year 6. This allows the subject leader to effectively check that the history curriculum is being successfully delivered across the school.

Our children are exposed to rich stories and fantastic role models in history. They see themselves in the variety of role models we introduce them to through important events such as Black History Month and International Women’s Day and in turn, this inspires the children to believe that they to can change the course of history. The children at Throckley are able to examine their own identities by looking at how the past has shaped the present day. As a result, they are able to determine the challenges of our own society and how they can impact their society and the wider world in a positive way.

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