History Curriculum Intent

Here at St. John’s, we want History to inspire pupils love of history and their understanding of the world.  

• In History we aim to support pupils in building an understanding of chronology, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History.  

• We want our children to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world.  

• We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence.  

• Through our scheme of work, which is based on the History National Curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time. This supports the learning of British values – from their historical origins and context to the present day. 

• History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups.  

• We wish to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries. 

• History teaching will allow children to appreciate the many reasons why people behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.  

In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, we will introduce the following key substantive concepts  

• power 

• invasion, settlement and migration  

• empire 

• civilisation 

• religion 

• trade 

• achievements of humankind 

• society and culture. 

Using the school’s Growth Mindset, we expect the children to tackle any challenges, which they may face in learning about History. We expect the children to use any mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new and to support them to have strategies to tackle any future challenges as students or as responsible citizens later in life.   

History Curriculum Implementation

At St John’s, children study History every other term as we alternate it with Geography. We do this to ensure that we teach these lessons in enough detail so that the children are engaged in each topic. We use Kapow’s Primary History scheme, which gives us a clear progression of knowledge and skills.  

Areas of study are organised around an enquiry-based question and children are encouraged to follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate and Conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions 

Over the course of the scheme, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:  

• Change and continuity.  

• Cause and consequence.  

• Similarities and differences.  

• Historical significance.  

• Historical interpretations.  

• Sources of evidence. 

Lessons are developed to ensure that learning can be accessed by all pupils. 

Visits both locally and regionally are used to support the children’s learning and understanding of ‘real life’ history. 

History Curriculum Impact

The impact of History learning is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson begins with a recap to retrieve the taught knowledge to become part of pupil’s long-term memory. Assessment for learning techniques are used to assess understanding during lessons. At the end of each topic, we complete an exit quiz, which allows us to see the knowledge that the children have gained over the series of lessons.