History

Rationale

Our history curriculum is designed to give pupils a coherent understanding of Britain and the wider world, beginning with their own lived experiences and developing into a secure chronological framework.

It is underpinned by Golden Threads and the key concepts:

Power and government
Law and justice
Society and daily life
Civilisation and culture
Conflict and invasion

Pupils develop both:

Substantive knowledge (what happened)
Disciplinary knowledge (how historians think: evidence, interpretation, significance)

These provide vertical coherence and deepen understanding over time.

Disciplinary Thinking

Pupils are explicitly taught to think as historians through:

Using and evaluating sources
Understanding interpretation and bias
Exploring cause, consequence, similarity and difference
Judging historical significance

Enquiry-Based Approach

Each unit is driven by a clear historical question (e.g. Why did the Romans invade Britain?), supporting curiosity, critical thinking and structured historical reasoning

Local and Global Balance

The curriculum balances:

British History (core narrative)
World history (civilisations and empire)
Local history (e.g. Port Sunlight)

This ensures relevance, identity, and cultural capital.

By the end of KS2, pupils will:

Have a secure chronological understanding
Explain cause, consequence, change, and continuity
Make connections across time and place
Use evidence critically to form and justify interpretations
Understand how the past has shaped the modern world

Pupils leave as curious, informed, and critical thinkers, equipped to understand both history and their place within it.

History Long Term Planning

Progression of Knowledge and Skills
In EYFS and Key Stage 1, pupils develop a foundational understanding of the past through personal history, living memory, and significant events. This reflects National Curriculum expectations that pupils begin to use common vocabulary of time, understand chronology, and ask and answer questions using simple sources.

In Lower Key Stage 2, pupils deepen their knowledge through studies of early Britain and invasion, which supports the curriculum requirement to build a chronologically secure understanding of British history. At this stage, pupils begin to develop key disciplinary skills, including identifying cause and consequence, making connections, and using a wider range of sources to construct knowledge.

In Upper Key Stage 2, pupils extend their learning to more complex themes of society, civilisation, and global connections, in line with National Curriculum aims for pupils to understand significant aspects of world history and historical concepts such as continuity and change, similarity and difference, and significance. Pupils increasingly engage in
historical enquiry, evaluating evidence, considering different interpretations, and constructing structured, evidence-informed accounts.