History

History Curriculum Scheme of Work: United Learning

Subject Leader: Ms Walsh and Mrs Froude

Senior Leadership Team Link: Mrs Prinsloo

An introduction to History at Hill View

Subject Intent

History teaching at Hill View Primary School aims to teach a set of core ideas that will enable all students to experience a personal sense of awe and wonder when describing and explaining the world around them and its history. We aim to instill an excitement for history, which inspires a curiosity to learn more about the past. 

At Hill View, we aim to give children an understanding of the world around them while substantive knowledge is chronological, aligned to the National Curriculum, and prepares children for Key Stage 3. Disciplinary knowledge is taught alongside substantive knowledge and is revisited and developed across KS1 and KS2. Using and interpreting sources and evidence is embedded in all units across the school. 

The history curriculum delivers a coherent and chronological substantive knowledge of the history of Britain and the wider world, selected to build children’s understanding of three vertical concepts. These vertical concepts provide both a concrete lens through which to study and contextualise history, as well as use small steps to help children gain a deep understanding of complex, abstract ideas: 

• Quest for knowledge: How do people understand the world around them? What is believed; what is known; what scientific and technological developments are made at the time? How is knowledge stored and shared? 
• Power, empire, and democracy: Who holds power, and what does this mean for different people in the civilisations? How is power wielded and legitimised? How are people’s rights different in different historical contexts? 
• Community and family: What is life like for people in different societies? How are these societies structured? How are family and community relationships different in different historical contexts? 

This provides a consistent context that allows children to situate new knowledge in their wider historical understanding, as well as build a deep awareness of abstract concepts like ‘power’. 

At Hill View, we provide opportunities for all children to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, but also to be taken beyond their own experiences. The history curriculum teaches children about civilisations from across the world, and always incorporates the experiences – positive and negative – of ethnic minorities in the history of Britain. All children are encouraged to use their core disciplinary knowledge to approach challenging, historically valid questions.  

Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and built up, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Concepts taught should be reinforced by focussing on the key features of inquiry, so that children learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant questions. 

Subject Implementation

The Hill View History curriculum is adapted from the United Learning curriculum. It is aligned to the National Curriculum 2014 and Programmes of Study for KS1 and KS2 and ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  

Our History curriculum sets out the units that should be covered in each year. Within each year, the units have been sequenced in a chronological way, which means that substantive knowledge and skills progress from one to the next and there is a gradual understanding of ‘vertical concepts’. 

All lesson plans are based on Rosenshine principles and reflect best practice. Teachers use assessment for learning to tailor lessons around our children and help plan for subsequent sequences of lessons.  

All units include:  

• a pre-unit formative assessment:  

• a knowledge organiser that outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master  
• a cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth 
• continuous formative assessment to identify misconceptions and fill gaps in knowledge 
• opportunities to apply ideas and knowledge, for example, trips and visits from experts 

At Hill View, History is taught for half a term (with the other half-term being Geography) per full term. Within each lesson, opportunities for formative assessment are provided and teachers continually adapt their lesson delivery to address misconceptions and ensure that children are keeping up with the content. 

Subject Impact

Our History Curriculum is high quality, well-sequenced, and is planned to demonstrate progression. Our history curriculum aims to help equip children with the knowledge and skills that they need to be able to actively question information and make judgements about the reliability of the sources around them. Children will be able to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.  

At Hill View, the History curriculum will enable children to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It will also inspire children’s curiosity to know more about the past. History helps children to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. At Hill View, we also enable children to better understand the world around them by understanding it’s history and continued change. Children will also have a variety of role models throughout history that they can also identify with.  

If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.  

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:  

• tracking of knowledge in workbooks and pupil voice
• tracking of knowledge in post learning quizzes 
• challenge questions for children to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner