Curriculum Intent Statement History
“The study of History is the beginning of wisdom.” Jean Bodin.
At Breage School, our intent in History is to incite curiosity of the past in our pupils, so that they are able to see the impact that local, national and global events and people have on their world.
We aim to deliver a History curriculum that is accessible to every child, allows each pupil to understand their place in a world that has been fashioned through countless events and cultures, and also to know more, remember more and understand more in terms of both historical knowledge and skills.
Our History curriculum is underpinned by the following concepts:
- Humankind (understanding what it means to be human and the cause and effect of human behaviour),
- Processes (understanding the many dynamic and physical processes that shape the world around us),
- Creativity (understanding how everyday and exceptional creativity can inspire and change perceptions),
- Investigation (understanding the importance of asking questions, formulating hypotheses, gathering information and analysing evidence),
- Materials (understanding the unique and physical properties of all matter and how we interact with them),
- Nature (understanding the complexities and interdependence of the plant and animal species that inhabit the world’s many ecosystems),
- Place and Space (understanding the visual, cultural, social and environmental aspects of different places around the world),
- Comparison (understanding how and why things are the same or different),
- Significance (understanding why significant people, places, events and inventions matter),
- Change (understanding why and how things have changed over time).
These concepts, or Big Ideas, are revisited in different areas throughout the foundation subjects so that pupils are supported in making links between not only different historical periods and how there are common themes which weave throughout human history, but also how history fits with other subjects into the wider curriculum.
Our history curriculum gives students the opportunity to develop the disciplinary skills required of historians through all our areas of learning. These are as follows:
- Showing curiosity and asking enquiry questions.
- Analysing a range of sources (primary, secondary and tertiary) in order to investigate how people in the past lived.
- Understanding that different periods of history have elements that are similar, but also elements that are unique.
- Understanding the meaning of significance and researching significant people who have had an impact on our world.
- Using their knowledge of significance to identify and investigate significant events in the past and consider how they have impacted on modern life.
- Understanding chronology and why it is important to know when studying different cultures through history.
- Understanding that sources may only come from one point of view, and that as historians we must apply critical thinking skills in order to discern bias or spin in sources.
We provide opportunities for pupils to demonstrate their learning and understanding which are rich and diverse and which make explicit links with other curriculum areas.
“History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.” Robert Penn Warren.
