History

Intent

At Birchfields, it is our intent that our children understand and explore all aspects of History, from world events and international leaders to local studies. The curriculum covers all the objectives set out in the National Curriculum and is taught through each half-term’s project. Our planning provides a broad and balanced range of learning, both within year groups and across the school. We are dedicated to providing a curriculum which promotes a diverse scope of figures and events.

We aim, through history teaching, to expose our pupils to lessons and materials that address the legacy of colonisation. Our History teaching encompasses a wide range of topics which we connect through the use of standardised terminology and resources. We provide many examples of cultural experiences, including: field trips, museum visits and drama workshops. It is our intent that our pupils will acquire factual knowledge and use this to explore different perspectives and develop their own opinions about past events. In their futures, we hope that our pupils may go on to choose to study history or to pursue a career in History.

Implementation

Each classroom in Key Stages One and Key Stage Two, displays events on a timeline, which enables children to contextualise the content of their current learning by comparing it to their previous learning. History at Birchfields is led by a group of staff from across the phases and a member of the Middle Leadership team. History provision is monitored via book scrutinies and pupil voice. The content of our projects changes year on year in response to previous learning. We provide children with a range of activities and outcomes in our History lessons, using group or paired work as well as tasks for individuals. Whenever possible, we link our reading lessons and class novels to History teaching.