History

St Gregory’s History Curriculum Rationale

History Intent:

At St Gregory’s, our History Curriculum aims to enable pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We endeavour to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Our curriculum intends to enable all learners to discover the truth of the past and develop an understanding of how this has shaped the present. We believe that a high-quality history curriculum helps students find their place in the story of humankind.  Our Curriculum intends for our pupils to develop critical thinking skills as they delve into the rich variety of available sources. We hope that learning from the past inspires our pupils to play their part in facilitating a better future for the common good of all God’s people. 

Implementation:

Our History Subject Leaders, including our Secondary School History Specialist, have worked in collaboration to design an enquiry based, carefully sequenced, progressive curriculum based around the National Curriculum for History which encompasses: 

• Carefully planned lesson sequences  
• A knowledge and skills-based curriculum 
• Explicit teaching of historical vocabulary  
• An enquiry-based approach  
• Explicit opportunities for children to develop their ‘substantive’ and ‘disciplinary knowledge’ 
• Meaningful, repeated encounters with substantive concepts such as ‘civilisation’, ‘empire’ and ‘invasion’ 
• Links to prior learning and frequent retrieval practice 
• Ongoing formative teacher assessment  
• Summative substantive knowledge checker quizzes  

Impact: 

As a result of quality first teaching and our carefully planned History curriculum our children will show a love and enthusiasm for the subject. The sequencing of our curriculum will enable pupils to build a chronological and coherent narrative of history in their minds, making links and connections between time periods. Pupils will be able to talk with confidence and enthusiasm about what they have learnt in History using subject specific vocabulary. They will understand how the past influences the present and the future and use their developing skills as historians to ask and answer questions about the past with confidence and conviction. Our pupils will develop critical skills in order support and challenge viewpoints drawing upon evidence to support them. Children will be equipped with the historical skills and knowledge required for further study in KS3 and beyond.