History at North Scarle Primary School

At North Scarle Primary, we ignite children’s curiosity about the past and develop their understanding of how the past has shaped our present and impacts our future. Our curriculum not only enhances and deepens children’s historical knowledge, it also aims to develop historical enquiry skills through the analysis and interpretation of different sources of information while considering their validity.

Our four key threads are our vision and weave through everything we do at North Scarle Primary School:

Inclusivity: Our history curriculum embraces diverse, carefully selected units of study that ensure children see themselves in the units we study while gaining an insight into the lives of others.

Enriched: Our enriched history curriculum provides children with opportunities to take part in visiting workshops, visit places of historical interest such as Lincoln Castle, and take part in experiences such as medieval banquets and archaeological digs.

Aspirational: Our high expectations and coherently planned and progressive history curriculum ensure that all children are able to achieve and become historians.

Inspirational: Our inspiring history curriculum sparks children’s curiosity to learn about our past. Children handle artefacts, analyse a variety of sources of information and take part in enrichment opportunities they may otherwise not experience.

How is history taught at North Scarle?

Our history curriculum is built around our substantive and disciplinary concepts developed from the National Curriculum with links to our locality. Our history curriculum begins in our Class 1 (EYFS/Y1) class where elements of the KS1 national curriculum are taught alongside the EYFS ‘Understanding the World’ objectives.

Children then progress into our Class 2 (Year 2/3) class, where units of study relating to KS1 are taught earlier in the year, with units of study relating to LKS2 taught later in the year. Within Class 1 and Class 2, units of study are arranged in an A/B cycle format. Children then progress into our Class 3 (Y4/5/6) class where units of study are sequenced in a A/B/C cycle.

Purposeful cross curricular links are planned to support and strengthen learning where appropriate. Learning sequences are carefully crafted to ensure that all elements of the North Scarle history curriculum are taught and learnt – key substantive, disciplinary and vocabulary knowledge are identified in our curriculum to ensure our children develop into well-rounded historians. Children will study an aspect of local history each year, from EYFS through to Year 6.

Key knowledge and vocabulary are revisited regularly, and links are made within and between units which supports children in remembering their learning through spaced repetition. Teachers provide opportunities to retrieve previously taught content within lessons and through a weekly POP quiz.

What is our intended impact for history?

By the time our Year 6 children leave for secondary school, we intend for them to have an excellent knowledge and understanding of people, events, and contexts from a range of historical periods and be able to support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.