History
Click here to read about how we approach our curriculum, and to download our subject pathways.
St Paul's History Rationale
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 (National Curriculum, 2013)
At St. Paul’s, we want our pupils to be historians! We want to inspire curiosity to want to know more about the past and for the children to understand how events and people have shaped our lives today. We want children to understand the process of change within their local community, Britain and the wider world and to marvel at the richness and diversity of human culture. Through history we want to teach children about empathy, to ask questions, to weigh evidence and consider validity and to be able to transfer these skills to other subjects and their everyday lives.
The History Curriculum has been carefully designed so that it is interleaving. Children will revisit themes throughout the year and in the next phase building upon prior learning. This will ensure children have a deeper understanding of the different subjects and pathways. The essential concepts of investing and interpreting the past, building an over view of world history, understanding world history and communicating historically also feature and are built upon in each unit of work. The curriculum has also been designed with consideration of the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the children at St Paul’s. It includes the study of Rosa Parks, a significant black individual, and of non-Western societies, such as Ancient Baghdad and Islamic trade.
History will also be taught through ‘Time Travellers’ weeks. These are immersive weeks that focus on specific historical periods, events and places that also link in to prior and future learning. Each unit of work will also have a meaningful trip or visitor to give the children opportunities for memorable experiences and to develop their understanding in a way which is not always possible in the classroom.