History

What does History look like in our school?

Intent

At Lyne and Longcross, our pupils have a high quality history education which helps them to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and that of a wider world.

Through our curriculum, we develop the essential characteristics of historians in our pupils:

• A genuine interest in history and inspiring pupil's curiosity to know more about the past.
• Equipping pupils to ask questions, think critically, weigh evidence, examine arguments, and develop their own perspectives and judgements.
• Helping them 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.
• From EYFS up to the end of KS2, the children are continuously exposed to and taught to understand the important of chronology: about various historical events, where they take place within a historical timeline and famous historical figures, some of which have shaped the world today.

Implementation

Our school's history curriculum enables all children, regardless of background, ability of additional needs, to flourish through quality first teaching which brings the past to life and ignites curiosity. Our pupils are transformed into archaeologists, researchers and museum curators who interrogate the lessons left for us from the people of the past. We learn about how ancient civilisations have influenced the world we live in today, from the introduction of democratic society in Ancient Greece to the legacy of the Second World War. As British citizens and future leaders, our pupils understand the impact of the past on Britain today. For example, through our carefully constructed lessons around World Wars 1 and 2 through the history of Chertsey, we offer opportunities for pupils to consider a range of sources, including texts and artefacts, to make decisions about their historical reliability - we then apply this approach to considering how we can form our own decisions about the reliability of sources in modern Britain, e.g. the information shared on social media. Our history curriculum is enriched and enhanced by working across different subject areas.

Our historians are given a variety of experiences both in and out of the classroom, to bring history to life and create memorable learning opportunities which embeds their understanding of the past. Some of our exciting enrichment opportunities include visits to the Natural History Museum and themed workshops in school, for example Stone Age day.

Our History aims:

1. To develop an interest in the past

2. To develop an understanding of time and the context of events in the past

3. To understand how the past was different from the present and that people of other times and place may have had different values and attitudes from ours

4. To understand how to use historical sources and frame questions about the past

5. To develop an ability to debate and make judgments about causes

6. To develop independent enquiry and varied communication, employing a wide range of media.

7. To know and understand the history of Great Britain 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

8. To 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

9. To 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

10. To 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.

Year 3 have been finding out about the Stone Age period and have been investigating how people lived in the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. At the end of their unit, they had a visitor come in and help them explore the prehistory of Britain. Year 3 participated in a range of activities and delved into the uses of different artefacts that were found from these times.

Year 4 travelled to the British Museum in London. They explored ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife and themes of daily life, including family, food, hobbies and the natural environment. They looked closely at a range or artefacts from the time period and deepened their understanding of primary and secondary sources.

Year 6 came into school dressed in Greek inspired attire for their immersive Greek day. They learnt all about governments during that time and made comparisons of Athens and Sparta. In the afternoon, they had a workshop led by Chertsey Museum who brought in lots of amazing artifacts. 

At the end of their history learning, Year 6 celebrated VE day in class. They enjoyed an immersive day, dressed in 1940s attire, where they studied local life during that time. They looked up population changes, land use and roles of men and women during the war and then celebrated with a tea party at the end. 

Year 6 have enjoyed a fun history trip to Milestones museum.

'We particularly loved our two workshops with an ARP warden and nurse. We saw some real artifacts, explored food that was rationed and learnt about air raid shelters. We even got to experience a 1940s sweet shop and traded in our ration books for a portion of sweets.'

Useful Primary History links