At Pocklington Church of England VC Infant School, we aim for our History curriculum to ignite children’s curiosity, whilst challenging their understanding and perception of the wider world. Through learning about specific events and changes in History, we will expand children’s understanding with a broad and diverse programme of learning.
We give children the opportunity to investigate primary and secondary resources and encourage them to think critically to form their own judgements and opinions. We want children to appreciate the role their local area has played throughout history through specific purposeful experiences and exploration. We enable children to develop skills to independently question what they see and be able to begin making connections between what they already know. The structure of our curriculum will develop chronological awareness to give children an understanding of changes across time, including events within and beyond living memory. Our curriculum is not only set up to develop History knowledge and skills, but so that children leave Pocklington Church of England VC Infant School with a sense of identity, acceptance of cultural differences and the skills to achieve their potential in the future.
Our History scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of phase attainment targets in the EYFS Framework and the National curriculum.
“People without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.“
– Marcus Garvey
At Pocklington Church of England VC Infant School, in the Early Years Foundation Stage History is taught through the lens of ‘ Understanding the World’. This is through adult-led activities as well as enhancements in provision. The children are encouraged to recognise and build upon the knowledge of themselves as individuals and how their story has come to be through stories and shared experiences with extended family members and friends.
Based upon the National Curriculum for Key Stage One and the individual needs of our children at Pocklington Church of England Infant School, our long and medium term plans set out the content, key knowledge, vocabulary and skills to be taught from EYFS to year 2, to allow pupils to progress each year.
We alternate our Geography and History topics, ensuring that our children will receive a well-rounded teaching of the humanities subjects throughout the year. Key skills are revisited regularly with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning, developing depth of understanding and progression of skills.
Our KS1 curriculum takes pupils on a journey through the key concepts of: The History of Travel and Communication Over Time, as well as celebrating key national events e.g. coronation of King Charles. We have selected a range of significant individuals from the past, whose achievements have contributed to the world as a whole. These are taught chronologically so that children begin to develop an understanding of the passage of time.
Consideration is given to how greater depth will be taught, learnt and demonstrated within each lesson, as well as how learners will be supported in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion.
Children are given access to a range of primary and secondary resources to develop their skills as historians. Pupils will attend visits to their local area which helps the pupils have a sense of where they belong and their surroundings. Pupils will also have the opportunity to explore artifacts, visit museums and other historical places.