Intent
At St Barnabas, we want our children to gain a coherent understanding that History is the study of the past, specifically, the people, societies, events and problems of the past. Furthermore, we want our children to understand Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our language-rich curriculum is designed to inspire children’s curiosity to know more about the past and cross-cultural understanding. Children should ask perceptive questions and think critically, using varied sources of information and artefacts. They will learn about how people’s lives have changed and what it means to be human, how diverse societies were and the challenges that were faced.
Purpose
Our curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils progress as historians;
- know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
- know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
- gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
- understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
- understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
- gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts: understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales
Planning through Concepts
Pupils develop an understanding of the following key historical concepts through each of the topics taught; these are revisited through different topics at different ages.
Year 1 & 2
| Mary Anning | Mary Seacole | Grace Darling | Samuel Pepys | Queen Elizabeth & Victoria | Neil Armstrong & Tim Peake | |
| POWER/EMPIRE | What was life like for Samuel Peps? (life in the 17th century). | What was/is the role of a monarch? Who was the better Queen? | What impact has space travel had on our world? | |||
| CULTURE | What was life like for Mary Anning? Was it easy for her to become recognised as a female? | What was life like for Mary Seacole? (period of history) | What was life like for Grace Darling? What can we learn from Grace Darling? | What was life like for Samuel Pepys? (life in the 17th century). | What was life like for Queen Elizabeth 1 and England at the time of her reign? What was life like for Queen Victoria and Britain at the time of her reign? | What did they see/do in space? |
| INFLUENCE AND IMPACT | Who was Mary Anning? What makes a good fossil hunter? What did Mary find that was so amazing? | Who was Mary Seacole? What did Mary Seacole make? (Herbal remedies) |
Who was Grace Darling? Why do we know who Grace Darling is? How did Grace Darling become ‘famous’? | Who was Samuel Pepys? | Who was the better Queen? | Who was Neil Armstrong? Who is Tim Peake? |
| MOVEMENT | Why did she dig for fossils? | What is Mary Seacole most famous for? | Should we still have lighthouse keepers? | What made him famous? Why did Samuel Pepys need to bury the cheese? | Who was the better Queen? | How did they get to space? What impact has space travel had on our world? How does space travel affect us now? |
| RELATIONSHIPS | Was it easy for her to become recognised as a female? | Is there a difference between hospitals then and now? | How did the Great Fire of London affect Samuel Pepys? | What was life like for Queen Elizabeth 1 and England at the time of her reign? What was life like for Queen Victoria and Britain at the time of her reign? | What impact has space travel had on our world? | |
| CIVILISATION | How did Mary Anning make a living? (She sells sea shells on the sea shore) | What was life like for Samuel Pepys? (life in the 17th century). | What was life like for Queen Elizabeth 1 and England at the time of her reign? What was life like for Queen Victoria and Britain at the time of her reign? | What impact has space travel had on our world? |
Year 3 & 4
| Boudica | Brunel | Agnodice Of Athens | Stone Age to Iron Age | Edward the confessor &King Alfred | Benin | |
| POWER/EMPIRE | Who was Boudica? What happened during the Roman Invasions? What happened during Boudica’s rebellion? |
How did Agnodice change life for women? | Why was King Alfred so great? | -When was the Kingdom of Benin established? -How did Britain put an end to the Benin empire? |
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| CULTURE | What was life like for Boudica in the Roman times |
What was her job? | What was life like during the Stone Age? | -Who were the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons? -Who was King Alfred? -Who was Edward the Confessor? ? |
-What was life like during the early days of Benin? | |
| INFLUENCE AND IMPACT | What was Boudica known for? What happened during the Roman Invasions? What happened during Boudica’s rebellion? |
Who was Brunel? How did he almost drown? Brunel’s bridges, Brunel’s railways, Brunel’s ships ) |
Who was Agnodice/ What was her job? Why did she live as a man? How did Agnodice change life for women? |
-How did Britain put an end to the Benin empire? -What impact did Britain have on Benin? |
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| MOVEMENT | What happened during the Roman Invasions? What happened during Boudica’s rebellion? |
Brunel’s bridges, Brunel’s railways, Brunel’s ships Was Brunel’s job harder then than it would be now? |
How did Agnodice change life for women? | When were these periods of pre-history? How did times change from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and then to the Iron Age? |
-How did Edward the Confessor die? | What is life like now in Benin? |
| RELATIONSHIPS | Who defended Agnodice? | What was life like during the Stone Age? | -Why was King Alfred so great? | -What impact did Britain have on Benin? | ||
| CIVILISATION | What was life like for Boudica in the Roman times? |
Brunel’s bridges, Brunel’s railways, Brunel’s ships | What was life like during the Stone Age? | -Who were the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons? |
Progression of knowledge and skills in the Early Years and Key Stage 1
Year 5 & 6
| Winston Churchill | Mary Bryant | Howard Carter | Dr Barnado | Joseph Emidy | The Shang Dynasty | |
| POWER/EMPIRE | Was Churchill a good leader during the war? | Mary Bryant’s Trial | What was the slave trade like for Joesph Emidy? | What was life like for Fu Hao and her people? Does a woman normally have such an important job? Why was she so significant? | ||
| CULTURE | Who was Winston Churchill? | Mary Bryant’s Trial | Who was Howard Carter? What was Tutankhamun like? | Who was Dr Barnado? Why was Dr Barnado’s work so important? What is the work of Dr Barnado’s charities today? | Who was Joseph Emidy? What was the slave trade like for Joesph Emidy? What was life like for Joseph Emidy after he gained freedom from the slave trade? | Does a woman normally have such an important job? |
| INFLUENCE AND IMPACT | When did Churchill become Prime Minister? Was he the greatest leader? | Who was Mary Bryant and where did she come from? Was she a criminal? Did her punishment suit her crime? Brunel’s bridges, Brunel’s railways, Brunel’s ships ) |
Who was Howard Carter? Was Howard Carter cursed? | -Who was Dr Barnado? -Why was Dr Barnado’s work so important? Were there any other philanthropists in that era? What is a charity? | What can we learn from Joseph Emidy? | Where/how was Fu Hao buried? |
| MOVEMENT | When did Churchill become Prime Minister? Was he the greatest leader? | Where was she sent? What was the escape plan? Did her punishment suit her crime? | What did he discover? Why was the tomb overlooked before? | Could you be a modern day Dr Barnado? What is the work of Dr Barnado’s charities today? How did times change from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and then to the Iron Age? |
How did he gain his freedom? What can we learn from Joseph Emidy? | What was life like for Fu Hao and her people? |
| RELATIONSHIPS | Was Churchill a good leader for the people during the war? | -What impact did Britain have on Benin? | ||||
| CIVILISATION | Was Churchill a good leader during the war? | Where did she come from? Where was she sent? | What was Tutankhamun like? | What was life like for Fu Hao and her people? |
| UK Historical Knowledge | World Wide Historical Knowledge | Progression as a Historian |
| ● Changes within living memory used, where appropriate, to reveal changes in national life |
● Events from beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globallyenhance understanding | ● Be aware of the past, using common words & phrases relating to time |
| ● Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality | ● Lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods |
● Fit people/events into chronological framework |
| ● Identify similarities / differences between periods | ||
| ● Use wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms | ||
| ● Ask and answer questions | ||
| ● Choose and use from stories and other sources to show understanding | ||
| ● Understand some ways we find out about the past | ||
| ● Identify different ways in which the past is represented |
Progression of knowledge and skills Key Stage 2
| UK Historical Knowledge | World Wide Historical Knowledge | Progression as a Historian |
| ● Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age | ● The achievements of the earliest civilizations; depth study | ● Continue to develop chronologically secure knowledge of history |
| ● The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain | ● Ancient Greece – life, achievements, influence | ● Establish clear narratives within and across periods studied |
| ● Britain’s settlement by Anglo Saxons and Scots | ● Non-European society that contrasts with British history |
● Note connections, contrasts and trends over time |
| ● Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor | ● Develop the appropriate use of historical terms | |
| ● An aspect or theme of British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 | ● Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions | |
| ● A local study | ● Understand how knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources | |
| ● Construct informed responses by selecting and organising relevant historical information | ||
| ● Understand that different versions of the past may exist, giving some reasons for this. |
Development of historical skills
| Historical Skills | Early Years | KS1 | KS2 |
| Chronological Knowledge | ● Use everyday language related to time Order and sequence familiar events Describe main story settings, events and principal characters. Talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. |
● Develop an awareness of the past Use common words and phrases relating to the passing of time Know where all people/events studied fit into a chronological framework Identify similarities / differences between periods |
● Continue to develop chronologically secure knowledge of history Establish clear narratives within and across periods studied Note connections, contrasts and trends over time |
| Historical terms | ● Extend vocabulary, especially by grouping and naming, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words | ● Use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms | ● Develop the appropriate use of historical terms |
| Historical Enquiry | ● Be curious about people and show interest in stories Answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions … in response to stories or events. Explain own knowledge and understanding, and asks appropriate questions. Know that information can be retrieved from books and computers Record, using marks they can interpret and explain |
● Ask and answer questions Understand some ways we find out about the past Choose and use parts of stories and other sources to show understanding (of concepts in part 5 below) |
● Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions Understand how knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources Construct informed responses by selecting and organising relevant historical information |
| Interpretations of history | ● Identify different ways in which the past is represented | ● Understand that different versions of the past may exist, giving some reasons for this | |
| Continuity & Change | ● Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change Develop understanding of growth, decay and changes over time | ● Identify similarities / differences between ways of life at different times | ● Describe / make links between the main events, situations and changes within and across different periods/societies |
| Cause & Consequence | ● Question why things happen and give explanations | ● Recognise why people did things, why events happened and what happened as a result | ● Identify and give reasons for, results of, historical events, situations, changes |
| Similarity / Difference | ● Know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions | ● Make simple observations about different types of people, events, beliefs within a society | ● Describe social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity in Britain & the wider world |
| Significance of events / people | ● Recognise and describe special times or events for family or friends | ● Talk about who was important eg in a simple historical account | ● Identify historically significant people and events in situations |
Developing Chronology through topics at St Barnabas MAT
This document was created using the National Curriculum and resources published for schools by the Historical Association.
To develop our young historians further take a look at this historical timeline with a variety of books recommended for each topic/era. This is to enable children to select and find books that may interest them and to encourage a love of reading through history.
