HISTORY AT CHRISTOPHER PICKERING

‘We are not makers of History. We are made by History’ Martin Luther King JR 

At Christopher Pickering we shape our history curriculum to ensure it is fully inclusive to every child. Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for History; providing a broad, balanced curriculum accessible for all that encompasses the British Values throughout; ensuring the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skills; and for the children to study life in the past.

Intent

At Christopher Pickering, we aim for a high quality and enquiry-led history curriculum which should inspire pupils’ curiosity and fascination about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about the history of Britain and how it has influenced and been influenced by the wider world; for them to know and understand about significant aspects of the history of the wider world such as ancient civilisations and empires; changes in living memory and beyond living memory; learn about the lives of significant people of the past; understand the methods of historical enquiry and be able to ask and answer questions. We want children to enjoy and love learning about history by gaining this knowledge and these skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also through learning opportunities and experiences within the wider curriculum.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning are embedded within history at Christopher Pickering, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. We have also tailored our curriculum so that British history is taught in chronological order across key stage 2 so that the children’s chronological understanding is reinforced through the order in which they learn about the different periods. History is taught as termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. We have adopted an immersive approach to learning which offers our children an exciting and unique opportunity to learn about periods of history which occurred beyond their living memory. They are transported back in time through the use of carefully designed communal learning environments which engage and contribute to their learning experiences. At Christopher Pickering, we ensure that history is taught with equal importance to that of the core subjects and a bespoke curriculum design allows children to develop a strong understanding of history within their local area. Chron

Impact

The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at Christopher Pickering are equipped with historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in the wider world.

We want the children to have thoroughly enjoyed learning about history, therefore encouraging them to undertake new life experiences now and in the future.