Intent for History:

At Oakfield Primary School, one of our key curriculum drivers is for pupils ‘to gain greater knowledge of the wider world’. We want pupils to learn about people who have shaped our world, cultures and history. Our intent is that our teaching of History will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past - the wider world like ancient civilisations and empires; changes in living memory and beyond living memory; the lives of significant people in the past and compare it to our own . We aim to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. We aim to enable pupils to think critically, sift arguments, ask and answer questions using sources of evidence to make interpretations about the past.

We want pupils to enjoy and love learning about history by gaining this knowledge and skills through first-hand experiences, fieldwork and educational visits.

Implementation:

History and Geography are taught as blocked units of work in Key Stage 1 and 2 with a focus on one subject each half-term.  We have Curriculum Maps for years one to six which ensures that all aspects of the National Curriculum 2014, Key Stages 1 and 2, are covered. 

Our ‘Progression of knowledge and skills in History’ document outlines what pupils will be taught in each year group. Our History Learning Ladder focusses on the key skills that pupils will be taught:

• chronological awareness
• knowledge and understanding of past events, people and changes in the past
• to use sources of evidence to ask historical questions and make interpretations about the past
• to present, organise and communicate for different purposes.

Within lessons pupils are encouraged to handle and discuss a range of sources of evidence including: documents and printed sources, photographs and pictures and a variety of artefacts.  This is often the starting point for questions and answers as pupils begin to make their own interpretations of sources of evidence. Teachers model key vocabulary within lessons and encourage pupils to use it. Pupils use timelines and refer to previous period of history studied which supports them in retaining their knowledge and skills.

Opportunities are taken to develop independent research and study skills through the use of books, computing and technologies.  Appropriate resources will be available to ensure that pupils have access to secondary resources through our School Library.

We aim to exploit opportunities for cross-curricular work so that learning is placed within a firm context and opportunities are created to embed reading, writing and communication and, where appropriate, mathematics across the curriculum. 

Through our ‘Mighty Oaks’ project we promote outdoor learning opportunities. A wide range of activities are planned within our school grounds and local area linked to topic themes. For example, in Year 3 pupils use natural paint and dyes such as berries, grass, beetroot and mud to create their own Cave paintings. Year 4 make a functional shaduf as part of their studies of Ancient Egypt.

We also encourage visits to historical buildings, sites, museums and galleries and first-hand experiences in school including visitors to support teaching and learning in History. 

Useful websites:

• BBC Bitesize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids
• https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3620/primary-topic-websites
• Greek myths for children to write their own: https://greece.mrdonn.org/myths.html
• See Florence Nightingale artefacts: https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/collections/
• The British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org
• Quizzes, crosswords and games based around Ancient Egypt: https://kingtutone.com/kids/
• A brief history of toys to get you started: http://www.localhistories.org/toys.html

Local places of interest:

• Southchurch Hall
• Southend Museum and Planetarium
• Prittlewell Priory
• Southend and Leigh as Victorian seaside resorts
• Southend Pier and Mulberry Harbour
• Old Leigh Town and churchyard
• Hadleigh Castle
• Tilbury Fort
• Colchester and Colchester Castle
• Rochester Castle and Cathedral
• Chatham Dockyard
• The Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green
• The British Museum
• Sutton Woo, Woodbridge Suffolk
• Museum of East Anglian Life
• Imperial War Museum, London
• Duxford Airfield and Imperial War Museum
• Greenwich – National Maritime Museum and Cutty Sark