History

Intent of our History Curriculum

The aim of our History curriculum is to help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past (and that of the wider world). Pupils at Bicton learn to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift through arguments and develop perspective and judgement. History should help children understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change over extended periods of time, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as develop an understanding of their own identity and challenges of their time. 

Implementation of our History Curriculum

We have mixed age classes throughout the school. This means the curriculum alternates for some year groups, to ensure that all topics have been covered. It also means that there is not a clear time order to the topics (from recent times to ancient times). Instead, we have placed the most relevant history topics together to be taught within a two-year period. We used Chris Quigley’s Essentials and the Historical Association, to help us identify core knowledge and skills children will need to help develop their understanding of the world as they move through our school. Knowledge and skills acquired earlier in the school are built upon steadily in each new year group, to ensure that a broad, balanced body of knowledge develops over time. 

In Nursery and Reception, children learn that they have similarities and differences that connect them to, and distinguish them, from others. They are encouraged to show interest in the lives of other people and remember and discuss significant events in their personal experience. 

In Year 1 and Year 2 (Key Stage 1), the focus is on building the children’s knowledge of key events in popular British history, such as The Great Fire Of London. We want the children to have a good understanding of core parts of British life and culture and establish the foundations of working and thinking like a historian. 

In Year 3 and Year 4 (Lower Key Stage 2), the knowledge and skills from Key Stage 1 are built on and children are introduced to older periods of history that have shaped our country today, topics which younger children may have found too hard to understand. These include the period our island was invaded and ruled by The Romans.  Children in Lower Key Stage 2 also have their first introduction to the ancient civilisations with a study of Ancient Egypt, as they begin to understand the history of the wider world.  

Finally, in Year 5 and Year 6, children learn how the Battle of Britain during World War Two changed Britain and about countries involved in this conflict. Our oldest children also start to learn about further ancient civilizations such as The Maya and Ancient Greece, as they start to understand the rich legacies we have in the form of our modern multi-cultural society. 

Living in a county rich in local history, children will be able to experience high quality educational visits out (and visitors into school) to learn about historical artefacts and ideas as close to first hand as is possible. These include trips into Shrewsbury to see the Tudor architecture, and visits to Wroxeter – one of the largest cities in Roman Britain- and to Blists Hill, an open-air Victorian museum. 

Impact of our History Curriculum (Knowledge, Progress and Assessment)

After completing our History curriculum, we would expect the children to have acquired a broad and sufficiently deep level of knowledge so that they will understand the key moments in human history. To support this, we have designed assessment statements that ensure all children can be challenged at an appropriate level in each year group. These statements link to knowledge and skills and always build on what children have learned earlier in school. Our teachers will highlight key statements that indicate the level of the children’s understanding once each topic has been completed. Ideally, we would like children to remember and be able to recall as much as possible about their topics, but we also believe in the value of knowledge of how to be a good historian: asking questions, making links, considering various sources of information and making decisions based on evidence. This will prepare the children for their next steps in secondary school and support them in their adult lives too. 

Bicton History Curriculum (under review)

Bicton History Knowledge Schema (under review)