History

St Leonard’s CE Academy

Curriculum Intent Statement

History

At St Leonards CE Primary Academy we aim to provide a History curriculum which is relevant and accessible to all and which ensures all children achieve their full-potential.

We seek to support a culture of inclusion and diversity through the teaching of History, ensuring opportunities to promote respect, understanding and learning between and towards others.

Through the teaching of History we aim to ignite children’s curiosity and passion for the History of Britain and the Wider World.

We seek to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to construct their own interpretations of the past and to recognize connections between different periods and cultures as well as connections between the past and their own lives.

We aim to help children to develop a secure chronological framework to enable them to place the period or event they are studying in a wider context and to support their understanding of change and continuity.

Our History curriculum seeks to highlight the importance of evidence in historical enquiry and gives children the opportunity to use a range of primary and secondary sources, to explore the different interpretations developed and possible reasons for these, as well as helping them to recognize that new evidence can strengthen original interpretations of the past or call them into question.

 Our approach to History aims to develop original, critical and analytical thinking based on perceptive questioning and a secure knowledge and understanding.

We are currently reviewing out curriculum and will be updating the website as soon as possible. 

Here are some of our current updated units. 

What does 'history' look like in the Early Years?

Within ‘Understanding the world’, there is a new ELG entitled ‘Past and Present’. Development Matters (non-statutory curriculum guidance for EYFS,DfE,2020) provides examples of how to support this:

a) Talk about members of their immediate family and community
During dedicated talk time, listen to what children say about their family; share information about your own family, giving children time to ask questions or make comments; encourage children to share pictures of their family and listen to what they say about the pictures. Using examples from real life and from books, show children how there are many different families.

b) Name and describe people who are familiar to them
Talk about people that the children may have come across within their community, such as the police, the fire service, doctors and teachers. Listen to what children say about their own experiences with people who are familiar to them.

c) Comment on images of familiar situations in the past
Present children with pictures, stories, artefacts and accounts from the past, explaining similarities and differences. Offer hands-on experiences that deepen children’s understanding, such as visiting a local area that has historical importance. Show images of familiar situations in the past, such as homes, schools, and transport. Look for opportunities to observe children talking about experiences that are familiar to them and how these may have differed in the past. Offer opportunities for children to begin to organise events using basic chronology, recognising that things happened before they were born.

d) Compare and contrast characters from stories including figures from the past
Frequently share texts, images, and tell oral stories that help children begin to develop an understanding of the past and present. Feature fictional and non-fictional characters from a range of cultures and times in storytelling, listen to what children say about them. Draw out common themes from stories, such as bravery, difficult choices and kindness, and talk about children’s experiences with these themes. In addition to storytelling, introduce characters, including those from the past, using songs, poems, puppets, role play and other storytelling methods.

Our 'Understanding the World' Curriculum provides a variety of themes and opportunities to develop their conceptual understanding of the past and the present through stores and experiences.