Purpose of study

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

DfE Statutory guidance – National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study. Published 11 September 2013

Holland Park Curriculum Intent Statement for History

At Holland Park we believe that a well rounded History curriculum will allow children to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We have designed our curriculum with every year group focusing on and building upon the previous years work on powerful historical knowledge and skills.

Holland Park Curriculum Principles for History

What History looks like at HP

At the beginning of each new history unit, class teachers will solidify the children’s understanding of the chronology through timelines and refer back to throughout the sequence of lessons. This chronology is also referenced to the chronology of previous topics for links to be made.

How we are going to achieve everything that is set out in the curriculum

• Children are not just taught facts about the past, but are given opportunities to acquire powerful knowledge and develop progressive skills of a historian throughout their time at Holland Park. This is through research, interpreting evidence, including primary and secondary sources, and making historical enquiries.
• Timelines displayed in class of the time period the class is studying and any other links to previous topics identified.
• Cross curricular outcomes in history are specifically planned for and these are indicated on the school’s progression mapping. The school’s own context is also considered, with opportunities for visits to places of historical interest and learning outside the classroom also identified and embedded in practice. Visits to the local area and use of local artefacts, such as the use of maps and photographs and changes in the schools history, also support contextualised learning, as well as the acquisition of key knowledge and systematic development of key skills.

Non-negotiables/expectations for staff and pupils

• Start each topic with a focus on understanding chronology and displaying the appropriate timeline within the classroom.
• Tier 3 vocabulary for the topic is displayed in the classroom for the children to access.

Cultural capital and power of knowledge in History

• Visits to local areas to enhance the learning in the classroom.
• Use real life historians to relate to real life experiences.
• Use a range of sources and artefacts where possible to bring the learning to life!