History 

Vision

History is concerned with sequence, time and chronology and is the study of evidence about the past; it gives us a sense of identity, set within our social, political, cultural and economic relationships. History fires the children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world and plays an essential part in preparing us for living and working in the modern world. Pupils consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like and how beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. As they do this, children develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. What they learn can influence their decisions about personal choices, attitudes and values. In history, children find evidence, weigh it up and reach their own conclusions. To do this they need to be able to research, sift through evidence, and argue for their point of view – skills that will prepare them for life beyond Rushall.

The aims of history are:

• to arouse interest in the past and stimulate children’s curiosity into finding out more
• to develop knowledge and understanding of how people lived in other times and how those times were different from today
• to enable children to know about significant events in British history, and to appreciate how things have changed over time
• to develop a sense of chronology
• to encourage thinking about cause and effect, and how the past influences the present
• to experience a range of representations of the past
• to develop the ability to communicate historical knowledge in a variety of forms
• to understand how Britain is part of a wider European culture, and to study aspects of European history
• to have some knowledge and understanding of historical development in the wider world
• to help children understand society and their place within it, so that they develop a sense of their citizenship and cultural heritage
• to develop in children the skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation

Our History lead is Miss Sarah Guy

History Curriculum Map

The children undertake historical study as part of the curriculum. Through history, the children learn a range of skills, concepts, attitudes and methods of working. The children are given the opportunity to learn about historical events and past civilizations through exploring sources of information and excursions. 

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in history lessons. Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in history.  We use whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities.

We believe that children learn best when: 

• they have access to, and are able to handle artefacts
• they have access to high-quality historical sources such as books and photographs
• visitors talk about personal experiences of the past
• they listen to and interact with stories from the past
• they undertake fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives
• they are shown, or use independently, resources from the internet and videos
• they are able to use non-fiction books for research
• they are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions
• they visit places of historical interest