History
Academic Year 2023-2024 - KS1 and KS2 are currently covering Cycle A on our planning.
Our vision for Malpas Alport School is one of high standards, achieved through the creative aspects of the curriculum. The sense of purpose, relevance and the excitement in learning provide children with the opportunities they need to achieve succeed and believe.
History is very much central to this vision. We place emphasis on equipping the children to ask perceptive questions think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. The use of artefacts, historical visits and a variety of source materials spark the children’s curiosity to understand more about the past.
Intent
The intent of our history curriculum is to provide access to a range of sources in order for our children to develop their reasoning skills. History must provide children with the skills to question, debate and interpret the past in order to develop their understanding of the present. Through history, the children are exposed to a variety of other cultures and ideas, as well as being introduced to the concept of bias and the importance of examining the credibility of information sources. Our history curriculum reflects British values, helping to develop an understanding of the national identity through study of key areas and themes of British history. Malpas Alport provides a history curriculum that is ambitious and designed for all children. It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively providing the necessary knowledge and skills for the children’s future to empower them to take their role as informed and active citizens in the 21st century. Its emphasis is not just on historical knowledge but also skills and concepts.
Implementation
As a school, we follow Rising Stars History to develop the children’s core historical knowledge the programme is enriched with resources from the Historical Association. A breadth of teaching approaches appropriate to the content and desired learning outcomes are used to engage all children and enables them to not just acquire knowledge but to apply it in meaningful contexts. Appropriate discussion is used as a means of checking children’s learning systematically, identifying misconceptions and providing immediate feedback. Questions and tasks to stretch and challenge the most able pupils are incorporated where appropriate.
Revisiting ideas and concepts in different, more challenging, contexts in later units, using varied assessments and the inclusion of quizzes encourage the children to remember content and integrate new knowledge into their evolving conceptual framework. Quality online resources and materials support our history curriculum. The online resources and materials enhance the accumulation of skills, knowledge and understanding of history.
We do this by:
- Providing all children with equal access to a rich, broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum matched well to their ages, abilities, interests, and special needs.
- Increasing children’s knowledge, skills and understanding as they grow and develop and increase their connections with the world around them.
- Carefully planning our curriculum to ensure that learning is continuous and that children make good progress with the development of their learning.
- Engaging the children’s interest and to encourage and motivate them to want to learn.
- Teaching an exciting curriculum and offering the children many first-hand experiences to reinforce their learning and to underpin their growing knowledge, skills and understanding of the world, which will prepare them to be active members of a future community.
- Opening their eyes to awe and wonder and cause them to marvel at the incredible and fantastic world in which they live.
Impact
The impact of our history curriculum is evidenced through the children’s use and understanding of the knowledge, skills, concepts and specialist vocabulary. The broad range of approaches for children to communicate their knowledge ensures that everyone can demonstrate progression and impact.
In particular, it is evidenced by the children’s ability, willingness and confidence in addressing and discussing each historical key question, giving a response focusing on historical vocabulary, skills and concepts. Children understand and clarify to others what history is and the importance and value of studying the past.
By understanding the past lives of significant people and events locally and globally and how this impacts their lives now, children are taken on a journey of discovery of themselves and others. Through the learning opportunities children are able to express and articulate the human condition by making links and comparing civilizations through time.