History
We are all Historians!
Our History curriculum includes termly topics for all children from Year 1 to Year 6, mainly taught in chronological order and embedded in our English curriculum through links with high-quality texts. A high-quality history education helps pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Visits and wider opportunities inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and deepen their understanding of their place in time. 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. It also helps children gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background. We teach this discretely and within other curriculum subjects such as English and Art.
We endeavour to ensure that our children receive authentic learning experiences. History at Nunthorpe does not stop in the classroom as a coherent range of historical experiences are available to all pupils across the different years of the school. Studying History in a way that inspires pupils, encourages the children to ask critical questions, weigh evidence and develop judgement – pupils of Nunthorpe Primary School are hands-on historians.
Early Years History
History is taught through a cross-curricular approach, providing excellent opportunities for pupils. The knowledge and skills are mapped across each year group to ensure they are revisited, refined and to maximise progression. Teachers use the Historical Association’s wealth of resources to develop their teaching ideas and subject knowledge.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children begin to develop understanding of their own ability and the progression of their own skills and independence as they grow up. This emerging knowledge is used to explore early historical skills. Children begin to make sense of their physical and natural world around them through hands-on, practical opportunities to learn about people, places, technology and the environment. Through carefully selected topics, children look closely into the past and present, their life and the people close to them, changes in themselves and their natural environment and the sequencing of characters from well-known stories. As children’s confidence develops, they are encouraged to recall their favourite memories and share special events from the past. The children are given ample opportunities to act these out through child-led role play (which coincides with the chosen topics). As the children look closely at different topic books, they are given experiences to sequence events and characters and discuss how things have happened in order. Story maps support this knowledge.
Click this button to see our History Overview…
“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
David McCullough
