1. It is underpinned by aims, values & purpose.

e.g. Article 29 UN Convention of Rights of the Child: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

2. It develops the whole person – knowledge, skills, understanding & attitudes.

Knowledge – children are introduced to chronology and gain an understanding of time and where they are in relation to other periods of history.  They learn about different periods of history

Skills – children are taught to be real  ‘historians’ by following lines of inquiry so they are able to make deductions about the past, e.g. looking at artefacts, research skills

Understanding and Attitudes – children gain an understanding of how history has impacted on and shaped modern day life.

3. It is broad and balanced.

All aspects of the National Curriculum are covered and throughout the school the topics are taught in chronological order.

Throughout the Key stages, children:

• will gain historical knowledge of the areas studied
• historical skills (researching and communicating, understanding change, continuity, causation, consequence, similarity, differences and significance)

4. There is clear progression in subject knowledge and skills.

Teachers use progression of skills document when planning their lessons.

There is a balance between historical knowledge, concepts and enquiry.

Teachers also use the Rising Star assessment framework to inform their planning.

5. It is filled with rich first-hand experiences.

Staff work incredibly hard to enrich the History curriculum.

Y3 went to COAM for a Stone Age and Iron Age workshop and Hatfield House when studying the Tudors.

Y5 went to St Albans for a Victorian day.

Portals to the Past come into school to deliver Saxon, Greek and Stone Age workshops to the relevant year groups.

6. It is flexible and responsive to individual needs and interests.

History is taught in a way to interest the children, e.g. children make deductions from primary sources (letters, diaries, handle artefacts), they go on trips and children learn songs related to their topic. Some topics are taught via a historical inquiry, e.g. ancient Greeks)

7. It has an eye on the future and the needs of future citizens.

Children have an understanding of where they come from and what challenges people have faced in the past. They are taught how the past has shaped today, e.g. Olympic Games, Roman influences, and Saxon names. Also when talking about Remembrance Sunday, children recognise how British soldiers changed history to impact on their lives.

Children are taught the History of Digital Music.

8. It encourages the use of environments and expertise beyond the classroom.

Trips are organised:

COAM

Toy Museum

Victorian Trip to St Albans

Portal to the Past – Roman, Saxon, Ancient Greek workshops

9. It makes meaningful links between areas of knowledge across the curriculum.

Links are frequently made with other areas of the curriculum, e.g. in Art Y5 children look at Anglo Saxon brooches and create their own designs and Y4 make their own Death Masks. Year 4 paint Stonehenge.

In YR4 when studying ancient Egypt, children learn about deserts.              

 YR6 study Africa in Geography after studying Ancient Benin.

EYFS talk about change over time when melting ice cubes.

10. It has a local, national and global dimension.

History from different parts of the world are taught (ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Benin) as well as British history. Yr1 and 6 study an area of local history.

11. It is supported by high quality Subject Leader CPD.

The History lead consulted the Hertfordshire advisor before changing the units of work taught at RPS.

Attended course on assessment and progression.

12.SMSC is embedded within the curriculum.

(See SMS Subject Statement)

Spiritual

• History supports spiritual development by helping children develop a sense of curiosity and the mystery of how and why events in the past happened and raises questions as to what could have happened if events had had different results. Artefacts are used to give pupils a sense of the past and aid pupils in understanding the people who produced and used these objects. Pupils are encouraged to explore the role played by important individuals, for good or ill, in the shaping of the world we live in. Pupils also reflect upon different interpretations of the past and how these interpretations have been arrived at.

Moral

• History supports moral development by asking children to consider and comment on moral questions and dilemmas. Events and beliefs in the past will often be at odds with what we would consider unacceptable today (and were to some people in the past also) Pupils will be encouraged to show compassion for people facing dilemmas and to empathise with decisions which people in the past made and the reasoning behind these decisions. Notions of right and wrong are explored in connection with events from the past, linking with the value of justice.

Social

• History supports social development by exploring the similarities and contrasts between past and present societies and be made aware of how, in the main, we are very fortunate to live in ‘the modern world’ which links with the value of thankfulness. They will examine how other cultures have had a major impact on the development of ’British’ culture. Pupils will also be encouraged to build up their own social development through collaborative and team working activities.

Cultural

• History supports cultural development by encouraging children to gain an understanding of and empathise with, people from different cultural backgrounds. They will examine how other cultures have had a major impact on the development of ’British’ culture. Pupils develop a better understanding of our multicultural society through studying links between local, British, European and world history.