Curriculum Intent Statement - History

At Fulwood and Cadley Primary School, we believe that history should inspire children's curiosity about the past and help them understand how people, events and decisions have shaped the world in which they live today.

Our history curriculum is ambitious for all pupils and is carefully sequenced so that children progressively develop their historical knowledge, chronological understanding and ability to think and work as historians.

Children explore significant people, events, societies and periods from British and wider world history. As they progress through school, they make connections between periods, recognise change and continuity and develop an increasingly secure understanding of chronology.

How We Teach History

History is taught through carefully sequenced units within our two-year rolling curriculum.

Each unit is driven by a purposeful Big Question, providing a clear focus for historical enquiry. Teachers identify and revisit relevant prior learning before introducing new knowledge, vocabulary and historical concepts.

Children develop both substantive knowledge – knowledge about the past – and disciplinary knowledge – understanding how historians investigate, interpret and construct accounts of the past.

At the end of each unit, children draw upon their accumulated knowledge and evidence to answer the Big Question and, where appropriate, make choices about how they present and communicate their historical understanding.

Thinking and Working as Historians

We want children to understand that history is not simply a collection of dates and facts.

Children are taught to think and work as historians by asking questions about the past, examining evidence, comparing sources, considering different interpretations and using evidence to support their conclusions.

They explore important historical concepts including chronology, cause and consequence, change and continuity, similarity and difference, and historical significance.

As children progress through school, they are increasingly encouraged to recognise that accounts of the past may differ and to consider why different interpretations have been formed.

Historical Sources and Enquiry

Historical enquiry is an important part of our curriculum.

Children encounter a range of sources, including written accounts, photographs, artefacts, maps, artwork and other historical evidence. They learn to ask questions about these sources and consider what they can – and sometimes cannot – tell us about the past.

Where appropriate, visits, visitors, artefacts and other first-hand experiences are used to bring historical learning to life and deepen children's understanding.

Developing Independent Historians

We want our children to become curious, knowledgeable and increasingly independent historians.

Children are encouraged to draw upon their prior learning, make connections across historical periods and independently use resources including working walls, timelines, historical sources, reference materials, iPads and curriculum loan boxes.

Through our history curriculum, we aim to develop children who have a secure understanding of the past, can question and interpret historical evidence, and recognise how history contributes to our understanding of the world today.