History
History at Warren Dell Primary School
Intent, Implementation, and Impact
Intent
At Warren Dell Primary School, we stimulate a passion for history and nurture an understanding of the past, helping children recognise how historical developments have shaped the world today.
The principles that guide the history curriculum at Warren Dell School are as follows:
Alignment with the National Curriculum – Ensuring our teaching meets statutory requirements while providing a broad and balanced understanding of history.
Exploration of Historical Periods – Covering significant eras and events to develop a comprehensive chronological understanding.
Aspirational Approach – Inspiring pupils to engage with history critically and ambitiously, fostering a lifelong curiosity about the past.
Child-Centered Learning – Presenting historical content in an accessible and engaging manner to support all learners.
Incorporation of Local Links – Embedding local history to help children connect with their community and understand its historical significance.
Our Aims in the Teaching of History:
- Develop essential historical skills, concepts, and perspectives to encourage critical thinking about the past.
- Inspire curiosity and a passion for exploring historical narratives and perspectives.
- Promote an understanding of the impact of historical events and changes on the present and future.
- Embed vocabulary at the core of the History curriculum to enhance understanding and communication.
- Enable children to articulate and write about their historical knowledge through the development of Tier 2 vocabulary.
- Ensure a clear sequence of learning that builds knowledge progressively.
- Provide experiences that support cultural capital and challenge while fostering connectedness to promote inclusion, attainment, and progress.
- Develop children's ability to retrieve knowledge using accurate subject-specific (Tier 3) vocabulary and apply it to new learning.
- Ensure children make progress in every lesson, with learning tailored to their needs.
- Provide appropriate challenge for all learners, fostering ambition, ensuring strong attainment and progress, and securing knowledge, with opportunities for higher-order thinking where appropriate.
- Implement a multi-sensory approach consistently to support knowledge retrieval and skill application.
- Develop children as active learners in History lessons, encouraging engagement and curiosity.
- Raise aspirations by incorporating diverse key figures and achievements within the History curriculum, particularly from underrepresented groups.
- Utilise History learning as a vehicle for wider enrichment, including educational trips and real-world experiences.
Implementation
History at Warren Dell Primary School is taught through a well-sequenced curriculum that builds upon prior learning and develops a progressive depth of understanding. Our approach includes:
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
- History in EYFS is integrated into the Understanding the World area of learning. Children explore the world through play-based experiences, hands-on investigations, and questioning.
- Activities include observing changes, exploring materials, understanding seasonal changes, and developing a sense of awe and wonder about the world.
- Activities are structured so that pupils begin to make sense of their own life story and family’s history.
- Through stories and books, children learn to compare and contrast characters, including figures from the past.
- Outdoor learning plays a key role, allowing children to investigate nature, explore habitats, and engage in sensory experiences.
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
- History is taught weekly, ensuring a balance of knowledge acquisition and investigative skills.
- Lessons follow a structured progression, aligning with the National Curriculum and ensuring knowledge and skills build over time.
- A strong emphasis is placed on ‘Historical Enquiry Skills’, ensuring pupils develop enquiry skills such as asking questions, understanding chronology by placing events on a timeline, recording information, using historical language and using a range of historical sources (primary and secondary) – this is clearly identified in each lesson.
- Start of each History unit incorporate a reference to careers in history, ensuring that pupils understand the subject's relevance to essential life skills and future career pathways.
- ‘Remembering more’, is a start to each lesson, ensuring previous learning has been embedded
- Cross-curricular links help deepen understanding; for example Maths for understanding chronology, English for reporting, and computing for research.
- Use of high-quality resources and outdoor learning enhances engagement.
Inclusivity and Challenge
- Differentiation ensures that all pupils, including those with SEND and EAL, can access and succeed in History lessons.
- Greater depth challenges are embedded to stretch high-attaining pupils through opportunities for independent enquiry.
Impact
The success of our History curriculum is demonstrated through the enthusiasm, engagement, and academic progress of our pupils. The effectiveness of our approach is assessed through the following methods:
- Pupil Voice: Pupils confidently articulate their learning, express enthusiasm for history, accurately use subject-specific vocabulary, and discuss careers linked to their historical studies.
- Assessment for Learning: Teachers employ formative assessment techniques, including questioning, discussions, and mini plenaries, to evaluate pupils’ understanding and adjust instruction accordingly.
- Summative Assessments: Pupils complete a circle map at the beginning and end of each unit, providing a clear measure of their progress in historical knowledge and skills.
- Book Looks and Learning Walks: History books and working walls in classrooms demonstrate a structured progression in knowledge, skills, and enquiry methods.
- End of key stage expectations as outlined in the National Curriculum, securing strong chronological knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Upon completion of their history education at Warren Dell, pupils will:
- Exhibit confidence in discussing, analysing, and presenting historical ideas with clarity and insight.
- Appreciate and respect diverse historical perspectives, recognising the influence of cultural, social, and global contexts on historical events.
- Understand the process of gathering, interpreting, and representing historical evidence, effectively using sources to support their enquiries and arguments.
- Develop critical analysis skills when evaluating primary and secondary sources, identifying potential biases and their implications.
- Demonstrate enthusiasm for history, make meaningful connections between past events and their impact on the present, and explore personal areas of historical interest.
Through our History curriculum, pupils cultivate a lifelong love of learning, a curiosity about the past, and confidence in their analytical abilities. By the time they leave Warren Dell, they are well-equipped to continue their historical studies in secondary school and beyond, prepared to think critically about the world around them and contribute as informed citizens and future historians.