St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Intent

Here at St Joseph’s Primary School, it is our aim to instil a love of History in all our children.

We aim to offer a high-quality History education that will allow pupils to broaden their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and the wider world as set out in the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. It will ignite pupil’s curiosity to question how people lived, and discuss how historical events have helped shape our world today. In learning about the past, pupils will be able to discuss and compare different time periods, and from this, use and develop their understanding of chronology.

We aim to provide an interesting and varied curriculum that interests and intrigues our children while meeting the needs of all backgrounds, cultures and abilities. Pupil’s will be exposed to a range of experiences that will aid in their learning of the past. Teaching will equip children to think critically, ask questions and develop their vocabulary.

From EYFS up to the end of KS2, children will be taught about various historical events, where they take place within a historical timeline and significant historical figures, some of which have shaped the world today. We will, where possible, link History to other subject areas. We will monitor progress regularly through learning walks, lesson visits, book scrutiny and pupil voice.

Implementation

Our carefully designed curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and Chris Quigley's Curriculum Companions, which allows us to teach the skills and knowledge showing clear progression and sequence, linked to the National Curriculum. With this in mind, we have developed our Progression Maps using the Knowledge Organisers and Milestones from The Essential Curriculum and Curriculum Companion documents to ensure there is clear skills, knowledge and vocabulary progression throughout school.

Where appropriate we use historical artefacts, visitors, workshops and visits to excite and intrigue our children to find out more about events and people from the past. We aim to give our children as much understanding as possible about what is was like to be around at a particular period in history by having practical and experiential lessons where possible.

Subject co-ordinators are given regular time to ensure resources are kept up to date, to monitor subject across the school, create action plans and to provide subject feedback to SLT as appropriate.

Through the teaching of History, we allow children to develop their chronology, being able to describe key events from the past, putting them in chronological order through comparison of dates, and discuss the impact these events may have had on our lives today. We select and teach historical events that have had a significant impact on the world.

The key areas of assessment within History are; Investigate and interpret the past, Build an overview of world history, Understand chronology and Communicate historically. These areas have been taken from ‘The Essential Curriculum’ scheme, and link with the National Curriculum. We use assessment for learning to ensure all lessons are relevant and will help to plan for next steps. Whilst teaching we assess children’s knowledge and understanding within these assessment areas.

Impact

Through the high quality first teaching of History taking place we will see the impact of the subject in different ways.

Through pupil voice children will be able to talk about the skills and knowledge they have acquired. Children will be engaged in History lessons and want to find out more. Children will complete research independently through projects and homework and to further their own enjoyment about the subject or topic.

Children will gain an enjoyment and will have developed a curiosity for the past. Children will develop an understanding of historical and monumental events that have helped shape and change our world. Through the building of their historical knowledge and chronology, we are then preparing our children to further develop these skills as they progress into KS3.

As historians, children will learn lessons from history to influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future. Assessments and monitoring will show standards in History will be high and will match standards in other subject areas.

21.09.23

Whole school PE enrichment sessions that linked with each class' Autumn Term History topic.

13.02.23

Year 6 had a wonderful day learning all about life on the home front, life as a soldier, the German perspective of WW2 and how rationing worked in the UK.

Session one – Children tried on gas masks and discussed how it felt to wear it. They pretended to be air raid wardens and learned the process of blackout.

Session Two – Home guard drill in the hall. They practised being soldiers: standing to attention, standing at ease and marching.

Session Three – What it was like from the perspective of German population during the war. This would be done by sharing stories from my own German family, my mother being in the German air force, my grandfather chief of German police in occupied France and my uncle as one of Hitler’s body guards.

Session Four - Food Rationing:

The rationing system was explained and children were asked to practise using real period money to buy certain food products.

Year 6 WWII Workshop

Year 3 Cannock Chase Museum Trip (Mining in the local area)

13.03.23

Year 3 went to the Cannock Chase Museum to develop their understanding of the fossil fuel coal and mining within the local area.

Session 1 - The children learnt about how coal is made over millions of years through a shadow puppet show.

Session 2 - The children looked into the mining room of the museum, looking at items from mines within the Cannock Chase area, and simulating what it was like to in the cage down the pit.

Session 3 - Coal Miners Cottage; going back in time to see what life was like during the Victorian times.

Session 4 - Meeting an ex coal miner from the local area to interview and to see actual pieces of equipment he would have used and wore during his time down the pit.

Session 5 - Comparing the uniform of a coal miner in the Victorian times to the 1980s, which was safer, and why.