History
Curriculum intent
At Selwyn, the History curriculum is designed to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and curiosity to explore events that have shaped the world today. We aim for our pupils to think like historians – developing their resilience to think critically about primary and secondary sources and to understand the relevance and poignance of multiple perspectives. The curriculum requires the pupils to draw connections between the past and present and cultivates respect for, and understanding of, the diversity of life experiences, cultures and civilisations. Lessons are designed to be interactive and explorative, activating our pupils ambition and desire to learn more about historical events and narratives. Ultimately, we aim for the History curriculum to allow our pupils to think meaningfully and independently about the people and places around them.
Curriculum implementation
In our school, History is taught and evidenced once every term and on a weekly basis, alternating each half-term with Geography. In the Early Years, Geography learning is interwoven through different topics and Planned, Purposeful Play. Our History curriculum links closely with our Geography curriculum; we teach key knowledge and skills through topics, creating opportunities, where possible, for links between topic learning to be made to strengthen and support understanding. The key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic have been identified in each topic overview and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. Within topics, we have identified a group of key substantive concepts or ‘golden threads’, that children will continually revisit in order to encourage in-depth learning to ‘stick’.
Our golden threads for History are: settlement, migration, religion, invention, empire, conflict and power and leadership. These concepts have been carefully woven into our curriculum, however each topic will not always include every ‘thread’. Over the year, children will revisit concepts more than once with opportunities for new meanings to be gained when applied in different contexts.
