History is Greek meaning ‘knowledge acquired by investigation’.
Our definition for KS2 – History is the study of people and events from the past.
Our definition for Foundation and KS1- History is learning about the past.
The aim of history teaching here at Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D. Academy is to stimulate the children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. We teach children a sense of chronology, and through this they develop a sense of identity, and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. Thus they learn to value their own and other people’s cultures in modern Britain by learning lessons about the past to understand who they are. Children will consider how people lived in the past and they will be able to make their own life choices today. In our school, History makes a significant contribution to citizenship education by teaching about the manner in which Britain developed as a democratic society, encouraging positive attitudes. We teach children to understand how events and people in the past have influenced our lives today and informs future analysis. We teach them to investigate these past events and people and, by so doing, to develop the skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem-solving. Children will understand there are different points of view and bias, and learn that History can be interpreted in different ways and for different audiences.
“How do you know who you are unless you know where you came from?”
Tony Robinson – Historian
“History is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to anyone on this planet.”
Dan Snow – Historian
We want our children to leave Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D. Academy being resilient, responsible, respectful, aspirational, caring and independent (our school values). We aim for children to be inspired by our History curriculum and develop and in depth knowledge of Britain and the wider world, both past and present. We want to make a difference in the lives of our children and ensure that they have a life-long passion for learning.
Through our History curriculum we aim to:
We do this through the three main concepts of History; Chronology, Historical Interpretation and Historical Enquiry.
Through our teaching of History: Chronology, Historical Interpretation and Historical Enquiry, we consistently aim to raise awareness of the subject and as a potential career field for the future. This enables children to broaden their horizons. Our children should leave our school knowing many different career prospects for historians. Careers which are inherently linked with the subject and also those which use the skills that History as a subject teaches.
Children should be excited by History and eager to learn more, questioning what they have learnt so far, and learn without limits. Our children will not be limited by their starting points or life experiences. We ensure that our curriculum gives children the many experiences they require to have a better understanding of the society in which they live.
Throughout our school, we aim for History to be taught through an enquiry-led approach. Using an enquiry-led approach means we support our children to ask their own questions and form their own opinions (and be willing to change them as reflective learners), and that ownership of their learning is with them and not just with the adult. We will explicitly teach children to analyse evidence and think critically to form their own opinions. We allow the children to develop their own ideas and develop their skills through carefully posed questions and the sources we use. We begin with a question, which can be posed by the teacher or the children (as they progress). Previous History topics are also to be referred to, to ensure children are developing an understanding of chronology and making links to different periods of time.
We ‘bring learning to life’ to ensure that children are passionate about History and, as we know social mobility is low in Newark, we try to give children experiences of the wider world. At Bishop Alexander, we make use of technology to access information and sources of the past. We use educational visits and residentials to give our children opportunities to experience history outside the classroom. We make sure that there are lots of opportunities for outdoor and physical learning experiences to excite children. They know that History is not just found analysing an artefact in the classroom or written in a book.
Our topics are structured so that the children can work through 3 key concepts of History: Chronology, Historical Interpretation and Historical Enquiry. This is how we define them:
We structure our curriculum using whole school topics and we focus on specific subjects in blocks over a number of weeks. This enables us to go deeper into subjects and to make meaningful connections with other subjects.
In the Foundation Stage children develop crucial knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world and form the foundation for historical work in Key Stage 1. They will:
In Key Stage 1 children will:
Being an Historian
Children will be taught about:
Historical content
In Key Stage 2 children will:
Being an Historian
Children will be taught about:
Historical content
