Greengate Lane Academy Astrea Academy Trust
History
History is important because it teaches us about the past. And by learning about the past, you come to understand the present, so that you may make educated decisions about the future. (Richelle Mead)
At Greengate Lane Primary Academy we expect the highest aspirations for our pupils. We want all children to learn and make academic progress no matter their starting points. We have a clear vision for what we want pupils to achieve during their time at Greengate Lane Primary and have designed our curriculum to give all pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding they will need in their future years.
Curriculum Purpose of Education
At Greengate Lane Primary Academy we aim to nurture a passion for history and an enthusiastic engagement in learning, which develops pupils’ sense of curiosity about the past and their understanding of how and why people interpret the past in different ways, leading into the desire undertake research for themselves. We want for pupils to:
- develop a secure knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from the historical periods covered.
- have chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of local, British and world history.
- have knowledge of substantive concepts in history (such as ‘empire’, ‘monarchy’ and ‘civil war’), and disciplinary historical concepts (such as evidence, causation, significance and interpretation).
- think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.
- have the ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources, whilst also being able to question, reflect and discuss the reliability of these sources.
Implementation
At Greengate Lane Primary Academy we follow the Primary Knowledge Curriculum for history. This is a knowledge based, curriculum that has been carefully sequenced using a largely chronological approach. Each unit of work should not be viewed as a stand-alone topic, but as a chapter in the story of the history of Britain and the wider world. In this sense, the chronological approach provides a solid framework, anchoring each unit within a wider narrative. Knowledge of substantive concepts and disciplinary concepts have been interleaved across the curriculum, allowing children to encounter and apply these in different contexts. From year to year, unit to unit, lesson to lesson, the curriculum supports children in making connections and building upon prior substantive and disciplinary knowledge. As an example, for pupils to really understand the causes of significant national and global events, such as World War I, they will have learned some background knowledge of what happened before through the origins and growth of European empires, including the British Empire.
Whilst many of the units are 6 weeks long, some units are longer. This ensures pupils secure the complexities of the content and have more time to study the period in more detail. Each unit of work covers each of the aims of the National Curriculum. The Curriculum Overview explains how this is achieved, summarising for each year group what knowledge and skills are covered.
Impact of the Curriculum
In history, it is expected that evidence of the children’s study will be recorded in work books. We measure impact of history through:
- lesson observations – how well children are contributing to discussions and how they articulate ideas about relevant themes;
- learning walks – how well the curriculum intent is embedded
- book looks – as part of triangulation with learning walks and assessments
- pupil voice – enables us to listen to pupils’ views about their learning and how well curriculum content is taught and understood;
- end of unit essays to demonstrate learning
- summative assessments and quizzes to see what has been learned and remembered.