Intent and implementation

Our Intent, Implementation and Impact statement for History 

Intent 

 At Chestnut Street Primary Academy, we believe History is an important part of developing children’s curiosity about the past. We and want all our children by the end of Year 6 to: -  

• Develop their understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world in chronological order 

• Adopt a wide historical vocabulary 

• Have an understanding of society and relationships within it and how this has evolved over time to inform the present and future 

• Develop a context for their growing sense of identity, a sense of who they are locally and their place in the world. This gives children the opportunity to reflect on their personal choices, attitudes and values.   

Implementation 

 As Historians our children will be given the chance to understand the past and learn about human achievements and experiences. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives throughout different time periods and the diversity of different groups as they develop their own identities. In the EYFS, History is covered within the specific area of 'Understanding the World', although aspects of historical teaching will naturally occur within other strands. From discussing the past in relation to themselves and their families, to beginning to understand the impact history has had upon their surroundings and daily lives, the children leave EYFS ready for the next stage of their history journey - curious, questioning and enthusiastic. In Key Stage One and Key Stage Two children learn history skills and knowledge through many different methods. We believe that chronology is very important, as teaching children when events happened and that they could occur at the same time as another event, allows them to develop a rich understanding of the past. We aim to equip our pupils with the ability to ask perceptive questions, think critically, collate evidence, debate arguments and develop their own perspective and judgement to better understand the world we live in today. We aim to provide the children with access to interactive resources, artefacts, photographs, visits to historic sites or monuments in order to stimulate their interest and to ensure they learn from the past. To give our children every chance to think as historians, we will develop their skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation whilst using some specific historical language to further enhance their knowledge. Our History curriculum encourages the children to take an inquisitive look at the world around them and consider what made the world the way it is today. Our carefully planned curriculum will allow the children to explore a variety of different time periods and topics ranging from the stone age up to World War II and in either the local area, Britain or anywhere across the globe. 

Impact 

 As historians, the vast majority of pupils have learnt key skills that they can use and apply in other areas. Outcomes in History books evidence a broad and balanced curriculum and demonstrate children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge. As children progress throughout the school, they will develop a deeper understanding our historical context and their place in the world and know more about significant individuals and historical events in the past.