History

History Subject Lead - John Secker

johnsecker@boringdon.plymouth.sch.uk

Boringdon Primary School History Statement

'A Boringdon historian will have an enquiring and questioning mind and a knowledge and understanding of how historical periods affected those that came after them through a real understanding of chronology. They will have a deep understanding of the key milestones and features of taught historical periods and how they have influenced us today.'

Intent:

History at Boringdon provides the children with opportunities to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past, including the local area and the wider world. The knowledge gained and understood is built upon as the children progress through school through a carefully crafted enquiry curriculum, alongside the knowledge-rich Opening Worlds curriculum. This enables deeper learning and understanding of history. Throughout their time at Boringdon, the children will become curious about stories and events from the past, consider significant events and people in living memory and beyond, ask questions and develop perspective and judgements. History will help the children to understand the stories from different time periods, the complexity of people’s lives, process change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

How is History planned and taught at Boringdon Primary School?

We have a carefully constructed curriculum at KS1 which has been constructed and developed by the school alongside experts in the Trust. The learning is sequenced with a clear progression of knowledge, concepts, skills and vocabulary which help the children to develop as young historians. The techniques used in the delivery of the KS1 curriculum supports the children’s transition into KS2. At KS2, we use the Opening Worlds Humanities Curriculum to deliver the National Curriculum for History. Opening Worlds is a knowledge-rich humanities programme for teaching History in Years 3 to 6. Where meaningful, there are cross-curricular links to other subjects for our units.

We teach a coherent curriculum that is the progression model. Each area of study has an enquiry question (a synoptic task) that the children work towards answering using the components of knowledge that are taught during that unit. This taught knowledge allows the children to make connections and reach their own informed conclusions. There is a specific disciplinary focus for each synoptic task, but the children use various disciplinary concepts as they move through units. Through both shared stories and teaching, there is exploration and teaching of key vocabulary. This allows the children to gain understanding and put meaning to the vocabulary taught. Through these stories and the creativity within lessons, we ensure that our children are engaged and enthused learners. Each lesson builds on previous knowledge and we ensure that all children understand before learning continues. Our History curriculum covers a range of cultural, historical and ethical backgrounds and offers purposeful and meaningful experiences to apply, share and develop knowledge. Planning provides the opportunity to embed previous learning and develop links between lessons and key concepts. The Opening Worlds programme at KS2 has strong vertical sequencing within subjects (where children gain security in their use of rich and broad vocabulary through systematic introduction, sustained practice and deliberate revisiting) allowing for ‘overlaps of learning’ and carefully designed horizontal and diagonal connections across the Humanities subjects.

We aim to ensure that our History curriculum prompts curiosity, critical thinking and allows learners to connect strands of learning across, not only our Humanities curriculum, but all aspects of the curriculum.

Enrichment

We recognise the importance of enrichment opportunities within our History curriculum and ensure this happens in a variety of ways, including:

Visits to local historical sites and museums
Workshops from visiting speakers
Displays and exhibitions for parents and carers

How do we check that pupils have understood before we move on?

Answering retrieval questions to support recall and committing information to their long-term memories
Understanding and using prior knowledge, from current or previous year groups, alongside the unit, making connections and thinking about similarities, differences, and connections
Confidently debating and discussing choices made
Lesson observations and subject leader discussions with pupils
Regular pupil voice opportunities to allow the children to demonstrate their knowledge and also reflect on their own learning and progression
End of unit synoptic tasks

Children will demonstrate their understanding and knowledge through independently applying all that they have learned to answer the main enquiry question (synoptic task). Assessments are made formatively and summatively with retrieval quizzes within lessons and synoptic tasks used as an end of unit assessment where the main enquiry question is answered. These synoptic tasks give the children scope to share a wide breadth of understanding in relation to the topic taught.

We use an impact document to measure the effectiveness of our learning. This helps us improve our teaching and scaffolding of learning for the following year. Information is fed back to previous teachers if it was felt that the knowledge from that year was also not secure enough. The impact of the History curriculum is regularly reviewed in staff meetings and INSET days throughout the year. We have strong links with other schools, both primary and secondary, within Westcountry Schools Trust which ensure a continuous review of practice and provision as well as expert guidance from the Executive Director of History.

What is Opening Worlds?

Opening Worlds is a knowledge-rich humanities programme for teaching history, geography and religion in Years 3 to 6. As a school, we are provided with curriculum resources together with training, support and ongoing programme-related professional development for our school teachers.

The uniqueness and background of every child is recognised and valued. Because of this, our curriculum covers a range of cultural, historical and ethical backgrounds and offers purposeful and meaningful experiences to apply, share and develop this knowledge.

Our diverse, culturally rich and wide-scoping curriculum is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values in a rigorous and coherent way. Explicit links to story-telling and creativity are made to enthuse learners. Many enhancement and enrichment activities are used throughout the curriculum to engage children and create purposeful, high-leverage outcomes that give children the opportunity to use and apply their developing knowledge and skills.

Our aim is to create an environment that prompts curiosity, critical thinking and allows learners to connect strands of learning across all aspects of the curriculum.

What does this look like at Boringdon Primary School?

The programme meets and substantially exceeds the demand of the National Curriculum for history and geography and is compatible with our locally agreed syllabus in RE. The programme is characterised by strong vertical sequencing within subjects (so that pupils gain security in a rich, broad vocabulary through systematic introduction, sustained practice and deliberate revisiting) and intricate horizontal and diagonal connections, thus creating a curriculum whose effects are far greater than the sum of its parts.

As the programme builds on prior learning, Years 3, 4 and 5 will start with the Y3 Curriculum in the 2024-25 Academic year.