Curriculum Intent
Our Curriculum Intent outlines the knowledge, skills and characteristics we want children to develop and learn throughout their time with us.
At Watling Primary School, our History curriculum is designed to ignite a passion for learning about the past and to cultivate an in-depth understanding of how historical events shape our present and future.
Through engaging teaching and active learning experiences, we encourage children to pose ground-breaking questions in order to explore different perspectives of how and why the world has changed over time.
We strive to provide a strong and enriching view of history that includes local, national, and global perspectives. Our curriculum covers significant events, people and places from various time periods and cultures. By studying diverse topics, pupils gain a comprehensive understanding of the world and the interconnectedness of human experiences.
We encourage our children to work both independently and as part of a team to research historical events, using a variety of sources to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Our children are supported in developing strong critical thinking skills that will enable them to analyse a variety of sources, evaluate evidence and communicate their own informed opinions using key terminology.
We encourage a respectful approach to historical learning, aiming to instil important values such as empathy, tolerance and respect for others. We recognise diverse beliefs and opinions throughout history, and strive to cultivate an understanding of the struggles and achievements of different people and cultures in order to help our children appreciate diversity and develop a strong sense of identity and belonging.
At Watling Primary School, we are committed to providing a history education that is enriching, thought-provoking and inspiring. We aspire to empower our children with the knowledge and skills they need to understand the past, navigate the present, and contribute positively to the future.
Curriculum Implementation
Our Curriculum Implementation explains what we will do and how we will do it, to ensure that children learn and achieve what we intend them to.
Our approach to the teaching and learning of History includes the following:
- Three distinct units taught during the academic year.
- Timetabled one-hour lesson each week.
- Lessons planned using progression maps and curriculum end points.
- Lesson objectives linked to Watling Way values and CAPTAIN Learning Characteristics.
- High-quality resources, including artefacts, used to enhance lessons.
- Separate exercise book for History for each child to record their learning over time as they progress through the school.
- Access to History Knowledge Organisers.
- Children’s History work is celebrated on Wonderful Watling Work classroom displays and around the school.
- History themed days organised in some year groups to enhance learning.
- History themed assemblies linked to national awareness days.
- Extra-curricular events (trips and/or visitors) linked to learning in History as part of our wider enrichment offer.
Curriculum Impact
The impact of the implementation of our History curriculum on outcomes for our children is monitored and evaluated at key points in the learning journey through the following methods:
- Formative and summative assessment strategies in line with our Feedback and Marking statement, including questioning and verbal feedback, ‘on the spot’ highlighting or annotations in line with our marking code, mini Connect 2 (Key Stage 1) or Connect 4 (Key Stage 2) reviews of learning at the start of lessons, end of unit mini assessments, and revisiting of Wonder Wall at the end of each unit
- Book looks
- Pupil voice
- Learning walks and lesson visits
- Termly Subject Lead monitoring meetings
- Analysis of History MAPs (Monitoring Attainment and Progress spreadsheets)
The National Curriculum Programmes of Study for History for Key Stage 1 and 2 provide further information.
Our Long-Term Curriculum Map for History gives an overview of what is taught in each year group over the course of each academic year.
