History

At Fairfield Park Lower School, we value History. WE ARE HISTORIANS!

At Fairfield Park Lower School, we intend to foster a love for history, as we learn about the people, communities and events from the past.

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We will promote the historical skills of chronology, developing arguments for and against and debating ideas.

It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

For our Progression of Skills in History, please click the following link:

History Progression of Knowledge and Skills Yr Rec - Yr 4

 Intent

At Fairfield Park Lower School we believe that the study of History develops lifelong skills and a love for the world around us. We wish to foster a passion for enquiry, knowledge and understanding about the people, communities and events from the past through a broad, topic based curriculum.
Our curriculum aims to inspire curiosity and interest, whilst developing the children’s understanding of their own identity and the diversity of the world around them.
Through an understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world, we will promote the historical skills of chronology, asking perceptive questions, thinking critically, weighing up evidence, developing arguments for and against and debating ideas.
Our History curriculum is entwined with our three school drivers and allows our children opportunities to explore these areas through our understanding of how individuals and societies acted in the past at different times.
Diversity – We explore different cultures, beliefs and ideas, look at how people in the past acted, how ideas and opinions have changed, and encourage our children to share their own thoughts in a safe environment.
Environment – We look at how people and events from the past have impacted on our environment, with close links to our Geography and Science curriculum.
The Arts – We use evidence from the past to encourage curiosity, questioning and debate, whilst encouraging our children to explore historical themes through art, drama, dance and music.
Through History we are able to explore and celebrate our values curriculum with a focus on British Values and what this means to our society and us as individuals.
By the end of their education at Fairfield Park Lower School children should:
- know and understand the history of Britain as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day.
- know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world.
- have a historically grounded understanding of key terms and vocabulary.
- understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, similarities and differences, cause and consequence.
- Understand methods of enquiry and how evidence is used.
- gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts. 

Implementation

At Fairfield Park Lower School we are passionate about teaching History through an exciting, topic based curriculum.

- We follow a progressive scheme of work which is rooted in the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. Our scheme of work is regularly reviewed and developed to ensure we are building on skills, developing knowledge and understanding, and providing engaging, interactive experiences.

- Our whole school scheme of work has been developed to ensure that our children experience a wide range of historical topics covering local, national and world history.
We use a variety of resources and learning styles to give children opportunities to explore, question and develop their own lines of enquiry. IT, artefacts, visits (both on and off site), reading material, art work and drama are all used to engage, inspire and develop a passion for the past.

- Our topic based curriculum provides many opportunities for cross-curricular learning with strong links to our English, AAL and Geography schemes of work. History skills are developed and strengthened through these links and key reading and writing skills are reinforced and revisited.

- Our classrooms and display areas are used to celebrate and share our children’s achievements. Our topic boards in class provide a visual reminder of the journey through our learning and contain key vocabulary.

- We will provide opportunities at the start of each topic lesson for our children to revisit previous learning to ensure that knowledge, understanding and skills from preceding years is not lost. This will also include demonstrating how new topics fit into their developing understanding of ‘chronology’ and time. This will ensure that we cultivate well –rounded ‘historians’ with a broad understanding of our past and the skills needed to make sense of it.

Impact

 Following the implementation of our History progression of skills we would expect to see children who have a deep and well-rounded understanding of their past, who are able to enquire, research and develop opinions about past events and know how these fit into a chronological timeline.
Children will be sensitive and aware of differing opinions and ideas, and be able to discuss, challenge and question these in a safe and respectful manner.
Children will understand how evidence helps to build a picture of the past, but equally be aware of its limitations and pitfalls. They will be able to question and challenge the usefulness of evidence and artefacts.
Children will be independent, resilient learners, who have the skills to carry historical enquiry and research. They will be able to work individually, with partners or in small groups to solve challenges.
At Fairfield Park our children’s knowledge and understanding will be monitored and assessed through observations during lessons, children’s work, discussions and understanding will be assessed when revisiting past learning during lessons starters. 

Learning Snapshot