What is History?

History teaching at Holly Grove follows our belief that all children have access to and receive a high quality broad and balanced curriculum regardless of ability, additional needs, race, gender or background. 

A high-quality history education will help pupils prepare for life as citizens of 21^st century Britain. It is through knowledge of how our society came to be that we can successfully prepare for the future. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils 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.

Through our skills based curriculum, children will learn about the rich British history from the Stone Age through to the Viking era along with key events in our history beyond 1066, this provides wonderful opportunities to investigate British Values and how they, along with our society, have been shaped. In their learning, children will also investigate the history of societies from the wider world to help promote respect and tolerance for other cultures and beliefs.

Objectives

All children

• follow the programme of study for the National Curriculum
• work across a range of British eras from the Stone Age to The Vikings with knowledge extended to include post 1066 learning and non-European study units.
• use first and second hand sources to develop skills of enquiry, analysis and communicate an opinion.
• develop an understanding of chronology.
• acquire historical vocabulary in the use of sources, chronology and unit specific.
• develop a love of history and understand it's importance to our own lives.
• assess their learning.

What our children say about history at Holly Grove

Intent

Our history curriculum aims to develop a knowledge and  understanding of the past through the use of historical skills, vocabulary and eras and events chosen to capture imagination and interest.

Implementation

In order for children to develop a strong, secure history knowledge and understanding we build introduce and revisit key skills from EYFS through to Y5/6. The order of the pathway may be different but all elements will still be covered. 

Our Curriculum

The document below shows a planned teaching sequence that a unit of history lessons may follow to promote the sequential and progressive development of knowledge which can be securely demonstrated by our pupils. 

When talking to the children it’s been clear that they really enjoy their history learning and using the skills of a historian including source analysis, comparing and contrasting and looking for cause and effect. Coming up in 2023/4,

Reception and nursery will be learning about what is meant by ‘the past’ as they find out about themselves and their families, special celebrations.

KS1 will be investigating Homes from the Past, Hospital Heroes and Castles and Queens with trips to Tamworth or Warwick Castle to really bring their learning to life.

In Y3/4, a visit from History Workshops will bring the unit on the Stone Age to a close, then in spring the children will learn about the Romans and in summer will investigate the changing power of the monarch in Britain. 

Y5/6 are studying the Tudors this term finding out all about their exploration, in spring they will be switching the focus to a local history unit researching Burntwood and its mining heritage. 

Further Information