History
At Northway Infant school our intent is that our teaching of history will inspire in pupils a curiosity to find out more about their past, who they are and why we are the way we are as a nation.
We aim to help children develop a well-rounded knowledge of the past and its events, improving every child’s cultural capital, understanding of the world around them and their own heritage.
In EYFS, the children work thematically. By the end of Reception, the children will begin to make sense of their own life story and their family.
Then in year 1, the curriculum builds on ELG. The children begin to bring in items from their past - a few of their favourite things and delve deeper into the history of teddy bears - as we know how important these toys are to children today. This develops their sense of history - for something they have in their everyday lives and how these things have changed over time. We put the children and their lived experiences at the centre of the curriculum - we celebrate everyone's place in history, including their teddy bears.
Children's learning then expands to individuals who have real significance - they learn about Sir Peter Scott and Edward Wilson who are famous locally and Mae Jemison who was the first African- American woman for fly into space! The children also focus about Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria learning about the significance of these individuals for the country - and they lived in London where The Great Fire of London took place!
In Year 2, this is when we extend the children's thinking in relation to people who have helped us to live the life we lead today in our nation and beyond. These people show us how they have overcome obstacles or challenges and can teach us about everyday experiences in History - like how they first flew a plane or how they invented the telephone, which everyone now has as a mobile device. The children learn about significant individuals such as Amelia Earhart and Alexander Graham Bell.
The final unit of year 2 celebrate the local history of the incredible town of Tewkesbury and the children find out about how the place we all live has changed over time. We walk and explore the historical alleyways, the Battle of Tewkesbury and visit Tewkesbury Abbey. We even take part in the re-enactment parade annually as part of the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival, where people travel from all over the world to take part in. This enables the children ask questions about what they see - is this a modern building or a Tudor one? How old do we think the Abbey is? This 'tour' allows the children to make sense of their locality, ask questions and deepen their understanding of how Tewkesbury has changed over time.
History lessons
These focus on developing historical skills and children see themselves as historians:
- Children learn about history in an active and creative way whether visiting places of historical interest, exploring artefacts or experiencing the past through stories.
- Children are equipped with the skills they need to ask questions, encouraged to think critically, weigh evidence to develop their understanding of the past.
- Children are encouraged to consider the influence of the past on our lives today.
- Children will be introduced to the subject specific vocabulary that a historian would use.
- Children will use subject specific vocabulary to talk like a historian.
- Children will research, interpret and present like a historian.
Our topic based curriculum encourages cross links to Geography, Science and other subject areas.
A taste of History in our school...
