Aims
Our history curriculum at Staveley School aims to develop historical skills and concepts, which are transferrable to any period of history being studied and to other subjects. We want to equip the children with the ability to research, question primary and secondary sources, critique sources of information, notice patterns and trends, present findings, compare sources and order events chronologically.
We teach historical units with a focus on six key skills:
What do we teach in history?
At Staveley School, each child receives one hour of history each week for three half terms (alternating with geography for the other three half terms). We have a two-year rolling programme in Key Stage 1 and a four-year rolling programme in Key Stage 2, ensuring that all aspects of the national curriculum are covered during a child’s time at Staveley with no repetition. In EYFS, history is taught as part of the Early Learning Goal ‘Past and Present’.
Our history curriculum has been designed to focus on local, national and international subject areas which ensures that children develop a strong understanding of their local history and can then relate and compare this to global historical events of the same time period.
At Key Stage 1 children study:
Children also focus on the key individuals John Cunliffe, James Cook, Amelia Earhart, Beatrix Potter, Grace Darling, Neil Armstrong and Mary Seacole.
At Key Stage 2 children study:
Our units are supported by additional learning opportunities such as our ‘Roman Explorers’ residential to Housesteads and Birdoswald, visits to local museums and the Cumbria archives, and speakers coming to school.
Assessment for learning opportunities are built into each unit, which enables self-evaluation, reflective learning, and allows teachers to evaluate and assess progress. It also offers a tool for summative assessment, creating opportunities to record and track achievement. Children record their work in their history books but also use their learning in history in other subjects such as English to inspire their narrative and instructional writing.
What is the impact of history teaching at Staveley School?
Children at Staveley School enjoy their history lessons and can confidently explain key events in history and provide explanations for these events took place. They are able to analyse sources and understand the difference between secondary and primary sources. Through a range of trips and talks, children gain an understanding of the lived experience of people during the time that they are studying and they can ask questions about why life was that way for those people. Children are also given the opportunity to explore a range of different sources and artefacts to gain a detailed understanding of the historical relevance of important sources.
Children at Staveley School have a thorough understanding of when events took place in different global regions, which allows them to compare events and ask questions about why things happened as they did. In Key Stage 1, they begin their journey with period of history that have more relevance to them and as they move school, they expand their outlook first locally and then globally.