History

Intent

At Langwathby, our intent for the History curriculum is to provide our students with a rich and diverse understanding of the past, fostering a sense of identity, cultural appreciation, and a lifelong curiosity about the world around them. We aim to develop their historical thinking skills, enabling them to make connections, analyse evidence, and form well-reasoned interpretations.

Our History curriculum has been designed to cover all of the skills, knowledge and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum states that ‘a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.’

To ensure pupils have a strong foundation of knowledge they can build upon, we have organised our curriculum using a spiral progression model. This model ensures that the skills, knowledge, and vocabulary are taught in a coherent and sequential manner. Throughout the curriculum, we focus on six substantive concepts: community, knowledge, invasion, civilization, power, and democracy. These concepts are revisited and reinforced across various historical topics. By doing so, we enable pupils to build upon their prior knowledge, regardless of the specific historical topic they are studying at any given time. This approach promotes a deeper understanding of history and supports the development of critical thinking skills.

Implementation

Our History curriculum is designed to be engaging, interactive, and inclusive, ensuring that all learners can access and participate in meaningful historical inquiries. We follow a thematic approach, integrating cross-curricular links where appropriate, to provide a holistic understanding of historical events, people, and cultures. We use a range of sources, including artifacts, primary and secondary sources, multimedia, and local history, to bring the past to life and encourage active exploration and investigation.

Our teaching methods include a combination of whole-class discussions, group activities, role-plays, visits to historical sites, and the use of digital resources to cater to diverse learning styles. We encourage students to ask questions, develop hypotheses, and construct their own narratives based on evidence. We also encourage the development of critical thinking skills by presenting different historical interpretations and encouraging students to evaluate their reliability and validity.

Impact

Through our History curriculum, we aim to have a lasting impact on our students. We strive to develop their historical knowledge and understanding, fostering an appreciation for the complexities of the past and its relevance to their lives today. By exploring diverse historical periods, cultures, and civilizations, we aim to promote cultural understanding, respect, and empathy, while challenging stereotypes and promoting inclusivity.

Our curriculum aims to develop transferable skills such as critical thinking, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation, which are applicable across various subject areas and in real-life situations. We want our students to become confident and independent learners, capable of researching, presenting, and defending historical arguments with clarity and coherence.

Ultimately, we aspire for our students to understand the importance of learning from the past to shape a better future. We hope that our History curriculum will inspire a love for history, encourage a lifelong interest in learning, and equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate and contribute to an ever-changing world.