Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School

History

At Saint Joseph's, the Borough, we encourage the children to develop the skills of enquiry and analysis to understand how the world in which they live has developed over time.

We provide a high-quality History Curriculum which helps pupils to develop historical skills and an understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. The curriculum aims to inspire curiosity and equip pupils to engage with the world around them, ask questions, think critically, scrutinize evidence, cultivate perspective and draw conclusions. Children develop an understanding of chronology, changes over time, the impact of significant figures in history, understanding of other cultures and societies, as well as their own identity. There is a focus on improving the children’s understanding of how knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources as well as developing their use of historical vocabulary. Our History curriculum also promotes the development of reading, writing and verbal communication skills.

Curriculum

Children are provided with opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of historical events and concepts within the topic of study. In Key Stage 1 and 2, the knowledge and skills set out in the National Curriculum are taught explicitly, through well planned sequences of lessons with clear, consistent and explicit outcomes. Topics are mapped out carefully so that there is clear progression in historical enquiry areas such as; daily life, homes, culture, conflict, belief and technology.

In addition, there are opportunities for children to apply what they have learnt through different cross-curricular areas such as Art, DT or Music which helps to develop creative, higher-order thinking as well as showcasing what the children have learned. Reading sources are used to strengthen children’s knowledge, understanding and use of topic specific vocabulary. In addition, this topic specific vocabulary and key concepts are provided to further develop children’s knowledge and understanding. The children actively engage with other sources to ask questions, think critically, and make observations and deductions.

Enrichment

To enrich the curriculum further, trips and workshops are planned which link with the history topics. This may include trips to The British Museum, The Monument, The Museum of London, The Imperial War Museum, the Houses of Parliament, as well as local area walks.

 

Click here for the curriculum map for History