Our fabulous History lead is Mrs Harris!

“A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.” 

-The National Curriculum (2013) 

History Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent:

At Croft Infant School, we have designed our History curriculum to ignite our children’s curiosity about exploring the past. There is a focus on the development of the children’s specific historical skills and knowledge. This is taught through a topic-based approach and by giving our children hands on experiences wherever possible. Our teaching of History equips our children with knowledge about the history of our local area of Alfreton, significant aspects of the history of Britain and the wider world, the lives of significant people from the past, and changes within living memory. Through our History curriculum, children will gain an appreciation of their local community, British heritage, and the wider world. By studying different historical periods and cultures, they develop a sense of identity, respect for diversity, and a global perspective. This cultural capital prepares them to be active and informed citizens in a multicultural society. We want to teach children how to ask and answer questions about the past, developing their inquisitive minds and giving them the opportunities, through many different topics, to help them to love learning about History. 

We fully adhere to the aims of the: - 

Early Years Foundation Stage Framework to ensure that all children: 

Knowledge and Understanding of the World –  

• Talk about the lives of people around them and their roles in society.  

• Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.  

• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.   

Primary National Curriculum for Computing to ensure that all children understand: 

• Changes within living memory – where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life. 

• Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally. 

• The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods. 

• Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality. 

Implementation:

What does History look like in EYFS? 

In Reception at Croft Infant School, children learn to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They learn about similarities and differences between the past and now, for example by exploring artefacts or looking at pictures. The children also use stories and role play to discover more about the past. Our child-led approach to learning means that we explore events and parts of history that are significant to the children, for example learning about Bonfire Night, Diwali and Christmas.   

What does History look like in Key Stage 1?

During Key Stage 1, our children will learn about people’s live and lifestyles. They find out about significant people and events for the recent and more distant past, including those from both Britain and the wider world. They listen and respond to stories and sources of information to help them to ask and answer questions and they learn how the past is different from the present. We learn about people and events from our local area and have close links with the Alfreton and District Heritage trust to support this part of our History curriculum.  

We help the children to develop 5 key skills as historians: 

1. Chronological understanding – our children will be taught how to place events in chronological order on a timeline and use words that show the passage of time. 

1. Historical enquiry – our children will be able to identify different ways the past is represented and ask relevant questions about the past. 

1. Historical interpretation - our children will look at and use stories, eye witness accounts, photographs, videos, artefacts, visit historic buildings, museums, galleries, historical sites and the internet to find out about the past. 

1. Knowledge and Understanding of events, people and changes in the past – Our children will be able to describe differences between then and now, talk about how things have changed and be able to recount the main events from a significant event in history. 

1. Organisation and Communication – Our children will be able to communicate their ideas about people, objects or events from the past by speaking, writing, drawing, role-play and technology to present their learning. 

All classrooms are set up with an ‘Enquiry area’ which is enhanced using artefacts and books which are linked to the current topics’ learning. This changes regularly to reflect on the needs of our children at Croft. Each classroom also has a timeline on display, beginning with a ‘Learning Journey’ in Reception which documents the children's time at Croft Infant School, to a more formal timeline in Year 2 which the children label with anything significant from any of our learning in History or any other wider curriculum subject. 

Assessment: 

At Croft Infant School, children in Reception will be assessed against the Foundation Stage profile, and in Key Stage 1, children will be assessed against the objectives and expected outcomes in the National Curriculum.  Following a series of discrete lessons, children are set an individual ‘Rainbow job’ to complete as part of their weekly learning, and this allows teachers to assess and consolidate any misconceptions or errors.  Learning Journals, Floorbooks, Conversations with Pupils during Pupil Voice sessions, Photographs and Videos will be used as the key assessment tools for all year groups. 

Impact:

At Croft Infant School, we aim for the teaching of History to have a great impact on the lives of all our children by not only giving them the academic knowledge, but also by giving them a wide variety of enquiry skills that can be transferred to many other subjects and areas of learning. In History lessons, children are engaged and curious in the past, they think critically and are able to make links about how what happened in the past, has shaped the world we live in today. We have designed our History curriculum so that our children leave Croft Infant School as historians with a broad and balanced understanding of History at a local, personal, national and global level, meaning that they can relate to historical events, build on prior learning and be ready for the next stage of their education as they move onto Key Stage 2. By having an engaging curriculum filled with visits, hands on experiences and artefacts, we want our children to retain their learning and create positive memories. 

In history Year 2 have learned about the Great Fire of London. We added the date to our class timeline.