History

Intent

The study of History at Ditchling supports our pupils to build a temporal awareness and a developing sense of identity as they come to understand their place in the story of human development. As a school we recognise that engaging children and young people in investigating questions about people and events in the past helps them to better understand their lives today, the contested nature of knowledge and prepares them for the future as more informed citizens. Engaging our pupils with a relevant, exciting and challenging History curriculum which inspires curiosity and is appropriate for preparing them for an adult life in the 21^st century is essential since it:

• Helps them to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as some of the challenges of their time;
• Develops skills of critical thinking which means making reasoned judgements that are logical and well thought out and not merely accepting arguments and conclusions as they are presented but having a healthy, discerning and questioning attitude about new information;
• Supports them to appreciate that all knowledge is socially constructed and its objectivity and reliability is therefore open to critiquing through asking perceptive questions, weighing evidence, sifting arguments and developing perspective and judgement;
• Helps to build a sense of identity and belonging on a personal, cultural, national and global level as pupils come to appreciate the diversity of human experience and consequently understand more about themselves and as members of society;
• Enables pupils to understand core concepts such as cause and consequence, similarity and difference, continuity and change, change and progress/regression, significance, evidence, chronology, empathy, context, diversity, perspective, interconnectivity and validity which have broad relevance and significance in the modern world.

Implementation

We have planned a curriculum in History from EYFS to Year 6 which is:

• Aspirational in terms of instilling in our pupils a desire to achieve the highest levels of success. We do this through providing pupils with the appropriate opportunities to build their substantive and disciplinary knowledge, master and apply subject concepts, skills and techniques and acquire the specialist language and technical terms to communicate their understanding effectively. Such high aspirations are clearly identifiable in the progressive and increasingly challenging objectives and end points of learning detailed in the medium term plans (MTPs) of each enquiry, which define what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do;

• Coherent, relevant and broad and balanced in terms of the areas of subject content we have selected which reflect the guidance of and are commensurate with the scope and ambition of the national curriculum. For example, we have ensured that content coverage includes both in depth investigations of the events of specific periods in the past as well as overview enquiries which give a greater sense of the chronology of continuity and change in particular themes and dimensions such as British Empire. In addition we have ensured that in each phase of learning there is a strong element of enabling our pupils to appreciate the historical significance of people, places and events in Ditchling and the surrounding local area.
• Sequenced to ensure that pupils can build on prior knowledge and understanding as they tackle more complex and demanding enquiries. For example, at Key Stage 1 pupils learn about the ways in which archaeologists interpret the past through examining artefacts at Vesuvius, are introduced to the concepts of war and conflict (through a local history question), continuity and change (toys and games of the 1960s) and significant people, places and events locally, all of which they later build upon in Key Stage 2;
• Progressive and more challenging EYFS through Year 6 both in terms of the complexity of the subject knowledge we want our pupils to acquire and also the disciplinary thinking skills we support them to master and apply to ensure they understand the significance of that knowledge. These anticipated outcomes in knowledge and understanding and skills’ acquisition are detailed in the objectives of each enquiry and are also appear alongside the end points of learning in the MTPs which inform each investigation. In terms of historical techniques, we ensure that our pupils are supported to examine and interpret contemporaneous primary sources of evidence right from the beginning of their studies in early years. We place a real emphasis on our pupils being able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information about the past and to understand the importance of critiquing these sources and question their validity and trustworthiness;
• Inclusive in terms of delivering the same curriculum to all of our pupils and scaffolding provision where necessary through, for example, in class support, providing different learning environments, alternative learning activities and assessment outcomes.

Curriculum planning and organisation

Provision in History has been carefully designed to ensure both continuity with prior learning and progression EYFS – Year 6 in:

Substantive knowledge – what our pupils will know by the end of each enquiry;

Disciplinary knowledge – the subject skills and techniques our pupils will master and apply in order to understand the significance of what they know;

Conceptual understanding – increasing awareness and application of second order and substantive subject concepts;

The acquisition of subject specialist vocabulary and technical terms in order to communicate their understanding effectively.

This continuity, sequencing and progression in History provision is detailed in the following planning documentation:

Long term plan – which provides an overview of provision EYFS – Year 6 and how what we teach delivers the scope and ambition of the national curriculum for History and the requirements of the EYFS Understanding the World area of learning.

Progression of Knowledge and Skills EYFS-Year 6 – which shows the continuity and sequencing of the four areas of learning – substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge, conceptual understanding and specialist vocabulary and language acquisition through the curriculum and forms the basis of identifying prior learning for each new enquiry.

Medium Term Plans – which detail what the pupils will know at the end of each enquiry, the disciplinary skills and techniques they will master and apply to understand the significance of what they have learned; links to prior learning and the end points of learning against which they will be assessed for both ‘making good progress’ and ‘working at greater depth’.

Learning organisers – used by teachers during the course of each enquiry to support knowledge building, conceptual understanding and the acquisition of increasingly specialised subject vocabulary and technical terms.

Lesson plans – which identify the key objectives, outcomes and learning activities of each teaching session in History.

Through this careful planning and organisation our pupils’ knowledge and understanding of History develops because:

• There is increasing breadth and scale of study through the curriculum moving progressively from personal experiences to local, national and global perspectives informed by the guidance of the national curriculum;
• The curriculum becomes progressively more complex developing from discrete facts and bodies of information to conceptual awareness and generalised knowledge about more abstract ideas;
• The mastery and application of historical techniques and skills occurs in more precise and complex contexts;

The focus of what pupils learn becomes gradually more nuanced and focused to ensure that they not only know more but can do more as young historians and consequently appreciate the ways in which that knowledge is constructed.

Impact

We adopt a constructivist paradigm of learning and teaching in History which enables our pupils to learn as young historians and to understand the kind of questions that historians ask of the world. Through enquiry our pupils not only build their substantive knowledge and understanding but become increasingly adept at disciplinary thinking, conceptual understanding and the use of specialised vocabulary and technical terms. We structure learning in History through big question led enquiries which are both in depth focused and also enable pupils to develop their chronological awareness of themes and issues over more extended periods of time. Our curriculum is therefore ‘knowledge rich’ rather than content heavy as we recognise that if we attempt to teach historical topics in their entirety, we will create a very shallow learning experience for our pupils. Consequently we adopt a policy of immersive learning in History that provides sufficient time and space for our pupils not only to acquire new knowledge and understanding but also to develop their appreciation of the importance of subject concepts.

Through enquiry our learning and teaching in History is interactive and practical allowing opportunities for pupils to work independently, in pairs and also in groups of various sizes both inside and outside of the classroom.  Learning activities are very varied to ensure that all pupils have opportunities to demonstrate their strengths. Similarly we provide scaffolded ways for pupils to record the outcomes of their work including the use of PowerPoint, concept mapping, annotated diagrams, improvised drama and the application of a wide range of writing genres. Only in this way will knowledge become embedded and ‘sticky’ and ensure that our pupils can build on what they know and understand from one year to the next.

The MTPs for each enquiry in History highlight both the objectives and anticipated outcomes of the investigation – the end points of learning. They are also carefully structured through the use of ancillary questions, to enable pupils to build their knowledge and understanding in incremental steps of increasing complexity until they reach the point where they are able to answer in full the question posed at the beginning of the investigation.

Learning History outside of the classroom

Through our curriculum EYFS – Year 6 provision is made for regular and high quality visits and visitors which we recognise as a core element of our pupils’ statutory entitlement in History. These visits provide opportunities to develop and consolidate skills and concepts introduced in the classroom and allow pupils to extend their understanding through investigating History in the ‘real world.’  This provision enables pupils to become observant, to develop the skills of recording, analysis and deduction and to comprehend the kind of questions that historians ask of the world. Critically it also builds their knowledge and understanding about how historians construct knowledge of the past. Learning History outdoors involving the testing and investigation of ideas and theories through practical exercises including observation, data collection, recording, presentation, interpretation and evaluation is therefore fundamental to the study of History and the development of young historians at Ditchling. Consequently, historical visits have been incorporated as a core element of historical learning in each phase of learning – EYFS, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2. This provision is important not only in terms of learning and teaching differentiation but also from the perspective of inclusion and cultural capital building.