History

At Windmill Hill Academy, we inspire pupils to be passionate lifelong learners by providing them with an ambitious broad and balanced curriculum, with the inclusion of a variety of enrichments, which will inspire them to have high aspirations. We inspire all learners to have strong desire to know or learn something and questioning their learning experiences to find out more. Throughout each year group and across the curriculum, pupils will make sustained progress, develop excellent knowledge, understanding and skills, regardless of their different starting points and backgrounds.
Overall curriculum
An Daras Multi Academy Trust has used the latest pedagogy, research and understanding of local contextual needs to structure the curriculum design to ensure the growth of capability mature children who exhibit a sustained curiosity for learning. The ‘lived values and experiences’ of pupils are determined by the individual school and should run through all operational elements of curriculum provision.
 
Making comparisons while learning about, and from. changes over time.
 
A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.
 
Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
 
History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
 
 
 
Pedagogy
Our History curriculum focuses on developing our pupils through the acquisition of WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, and SKILLS.
 
These have been selected because they ensure the whole development of the child will be prioritised, they enable pupils to meet the expectations of the National Curriculum 14 and have ambitions beyond the NC14. Each theme has a set of curriculum tools which ensure it is fully embedded through the lived experiences of staff, children, and stakeholders. Impact scales will measure the effectiveness of curriculum provision on the growth of children within these three equally important themes.
 
Wisdom
Children’s wisdom is developed in the following ways:
- Taking part in topical and relevant debates.
- Using class discussions to explore issues and make decisions.
- Through learning how to make positive contributions to topics under discussion.
- Making real and informed choices about learning -positive attitude to a problem or challenge. - Teaching equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
 
Knowledge
Children’s knowledge is developed in the following ways:
- Gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
- Listening to and discussing accounts of significant historical events.
- Meeting with and talking to other individuals to help understand why and how things happened/changed.
- Being given the information necessary to understand and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
- With a mixture of individual, group, whole class and whole school recording and some practical work.
- Using a variety of resources, including fiction and non-fiction books; posters; games; videos; flash cards and ICT.
- It inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.
- Understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
 
Capabilities
Children’s capabilities are developed in the following ways:
- Listening to support and learn new concepts, skills, and knowledge.
- Challenging themselves to advance in their understanding of the subject being taught.
- With a mixture of individual, group, whole class and whole school recording and some practical work.
 
 
 
Our carefully planned history curriculum, which is based on the Collins scheme written by David Weatherly, provides the opportunity for pupils to review, revisit and develop their learning of a particular learning connect. History forms the basis of our learning connection block for one of the half terms within each half term. For example, all year groups will have the learning connection block, ‘Rebellion and Invasion’ in Autumn 1 with each class having a particular focus on a learning concept, e.g. Year 4 – How did the arrival of the Romans change Britain? This allows pupils to know more and remember more for each learning connection block.
 
Teachers will help pupils with SEND to overcome any barriers to participating and learning and make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to include pupils. To make lessons inclusive, teachers will anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning may pose for pupils with SEND. Some modifications or adjustments will be made or smaller steps to achieve the learning goal. Occasionally, pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities, or towards different learning intentions, from their peers.
 
In EYFS, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These are stipulated in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. The most relevant statements for history are taken from the following area of learning:
- Understanding the World
 
 
Assessment
Assessment is regarded as an integral part of teaching and learning and is a continuous process. There are planned opportunities within the curriculum plan to revisit learning from the current year but also previous year groups.
 
Formative
All sessions should begin with a recap/recall of previous learning. Teachers should use skilful questioning to gauge starting points, to assess current understanding and knowledge, to ensure concepts have been acquired, to identify misconceptions. This formative assessment should support the teacher in adapting lessons to ensure pupils are learning new learning, building on prior learning, and making links between new and previous learning.
 
At the end of each session, teachers should use assessment tools to ensure that the intent of the lesson has been achieved, to help plan for the following session and to support building a picture of the pupils’ progress for final summative assessments. It is the responsibility of the class teacher to assess all pupils in their class, this will be triangulated with marking, TA feedback and pupil self-assessment. Any misconceptions are addressed with immediacy and the impact of targeted teaching reviewed.
 
Summative
It is the responsibility of the class teacher to assess all pupils in their class. Each child is assessed termly, against the NC criteria and recorded annually on ITrack. Pupils produce an outcome to demonstrate their unit learning. At the end of a whole unit of work, the teacher makes a summary judgement about the work produced. End of year assessment is reported on the annual report to parents.
 
In EYFS, the level of development children should be expected to have attained by the end of the EYFS is defined by the early learning goals (ELGs). These are not used as a curriculum or in any way to limit the wide variety of rich experiences that are crucial to child development. Instead, the ELGs support teachers to make a holistic, best-fit judgement about a child’s development, and their readiness for year 1.
 
When assessing pupils with SEND, there will be carefully planned opportunities in order for them to demonstrate what they know and are able to do, using alternative means where necessary. Where a pupil is unable to use particular types of equipment, assessment of attainment will be based on understanding of the processes used as demonstrated through oral and written responses or, where possible, through the use of alternative equipment. The attainment of pupils who require adapted equipment, such as particular switches or voice-activated software, will be assessed using these specialist items.
 
The monitoring of the standards of children’s learning and the quality of learning and teaching of history is the shared responsibility of the Senior Leadership Team and the subject leader. The work of the subject leader also involves supporting colleagues in the teaching of history, being informed about current developments in the subject, and providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject in the school. A named member of the school governing body is briefed to overview the teaching of the curriculum in the school.
 
 
 
Culture
Our high-quality history curriculum helps pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
 
Teaching equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
 
Our history curriculum helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
 
Our carefully planned history curriculum provides the opportunity for pupils to review, revisit and develop their learning of a particular learning connect.
 
History forms the basis of our learning connection block for one of the half terms within each half term. For example, all year groups will have the learning connection block, ‘Rebellion and Invasion’ in Autumn 1 with each class having a particular focus on a learning concept, e.g. Year 4 – The Romans. This allows pupils to know more and remember more for each learning connection block. We believe our history curriculum inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.
 
We enrich and inspire the history curriculum by linking many trips and enrichments, for example a trip to the Davidstow War Museum for Year 6 and a history workshop in school based on Sir Francis Drake in Year 2.
 
Teachers will help pupils with SEND to overcome any barriers to participating and learning and make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to include pupils. To make lessons inclusive, teachers will anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning may pose for pupils with SEND. Some modifications or adjustments will be made or smaller steps to achieve the learning goal. Occasionally, pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities, or towards different learning intentions, from their peers. For some activities, there may need to be a ‘parallel’ activity for pupils with SEND, so that they can work towards the same learning intentions as their peers, but in a different way. The use of technology to assist learning can removes barrier e.g. Widget, switches, text readers and speech and communicator devices. Using keyboard shortcuts instead of a mouse, enables all pupils to be involved. Generic software, such as Microsoft Office, contains accessibility facilities for SEND pupils. Screen filters may help with glare or using coloured backgrounds e.g. yellow background with blue script for dyslexic learners. Because the range of hardware and software is wide and continually expanding, teachers will always seek to collaborate with the SENDCo or colleagues e.g. previous teacher, on removing barriers to learning and participation for particular pupils with SEND. Pupils will also be able to advise on the technologies that suit them best.
 
 
Systems
In EYFS, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These are stipulated in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. The most relevant statements for history are taken from the following area of learning:
- Understanding the World
 
Reception
Understanding the World
- Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.
- Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
 
ELG
Understanding the World
Past and Present
- Talk about the lives of people around them and their roles in society.
- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.  Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
 
The National Curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:
- 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 History – key stages 1 and 2
- 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.
 
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
 
See the knowledge and skills organiser for history which demonstrates the progression through the year groups.
 
 
Policies/key documents
- Whole School Long term horizontal curriculum map
- History Knowledge and Skills organiser
- EYFS Long term overview
- SEND Policy
 
All of these can be found on our website under the curriculum/policies tab.