History

At Thornaby CofE Primary School, we believe the development and internalisation of the four core values of love, perseverance, hope and forgiveness are vital for our children’s future.

We aim to offer a broad and ambitious history curriculum that will help children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our History curriculum is accessible to all, maximising the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. It inspires children’s curiosity to know more about the past and is structured to ensure that learning is sequential and progressive.

Our aims are:

• To help children understand the present in the context of the
  past
• To arouse interest in the past and encourage questioning
  speculation and enquiry
• To foster a sense of identity and an increased understanding of
  pupils’ own position in their own community and the world
• To contribute to children’s knowledge of how societies and people
  have developed over time
• To promote the skills of argument, hypothesis, chronology,
  sequencing, awareness of points of view, observation, evaluation,
  research, comparison, deduction, role-play
• To prepare pupils for adult life by helping them to understand the
  nature of the society in which we live

The teaching of history will equip children 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. 

Our History curriculum aims to excite the children and allow them to develop their own skills as historians. We use the Cornerstones Curriculum to help us to achieve this aim. This is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school.

By the end of year 6, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. Interlinked with this are studies of world history, such as the ancient civilisations of Greece and the Mayans. They will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives. To ensure connections and comparisons can be made, each KS2 history topic must focus on five aspects: food, clothing, houses, beliefs and achievements. Children build a bank of knowledge of how these different aspects have developed throughout history. Each history topic is supported by a box of resources to enhance learning. They include:

• artefacts
• costumes
• primary and secondary sources
• knowledge organisers
• timelines

Children have many opportunities to experience history on educational visits and bring their learning to life. The children explore local museums and engage with visitors in school to share history learning and participate in ‘hands on’ experiences.

History Policy

History Progression Document