At Barnett Wood Infant School, we believe that high-quality history lessons inspire children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians. By teaching the subject discretely, we develop children with essential skills in order to help them to become historians. Children have opportunities to develop a sense of curiosity about the past, reflecting on how and why people interpret the past in different ways. Children develop their critical thinking skills and are able to communicate their thoughts and opinions to different audiences, supporting their opinions using a range of historical sources. In addition to this, children learn about the concept of chronology, which underpins their developing sense of period, as well as key concepts such as causation.

Through our History curriculum, children develop their knowledge and understanding of significant events in Britain’s past and the wider world around them. They gain key skills that enable them to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past by formulating and refining questions and lines of enquiry.

The National Curriculum for History aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Know about changes within living memory - where appropriate these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life.
• Discuss events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally (e.g. Great Fire of London)
• Ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.
• Learn about significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.

Teachers plan collaboratively using our history progression of skills grid when creating their medium term plan. History is taught half termly, alternating with Geography. When creating weekly planning, teachers use the History progression grid in order to check for coverage.

In EYFS, pupils are taught the knowledge and skills for ‘Past and Present’ using a thematic approach outlined in our EYFS Curriculum for Understanding the World. The themes are linked to units taught in Key Stage 1 to ensure progression as pupils move from EYFS to Key Stage 1, for example learning about significant people in the past.

In Year 1, children look at changes beyond living memory and begin to discuss these events. Children look at events in chronological order using specific vocabulary to describe each key event. Children are able to recall some facts about the past, saying why people acted the way they did. Children use books, videos, photographs, pictures and artefacts to help them to find out about the past.

 In Year 2, children deepen their understanding of changes beyond living memory. Children understand and use the words ‘past’ and ‘present’ when discussing key events. Children use their knowledge of the past to describe the differences between then and now. Children also widen their knowledge in relation to using sources and artefacts to help them interpret and find out about the past.

The children will be able to talk confidently about not only events in their own lives, but also about the lives of significant others in the past. The children will be able to confidently use sources and artefacts in order to help them develop their historical enquiry skills.  The children will be able to use key vocabulary when talking about significant events from the past and the impact that they had on today’s society.

Children will develop key skills in order to help them to reflect and evaluate key events from the past and their significance.  We will be able to see that the children know more and remember in more in History, through evidence in their books and pupil voice. We will also see they are able to recall prior learning and apply it. Children will then start their next year of learning with the necessary skills and knowledge to build upon.