If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach, please contact the school office directly and the office staff will pass your enquiry on to the relevant Curriculum Leader.

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach, please contact the school office directly and the office staff will pass your enquiry on to the relevant Curriculum Leader.

Intent

We aim to ensure that all pupils will be engaged, motivated and encouraged to become young historians. We want children to enjoy and love learning about history by gaining this knowledge and skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of fieldwork and educational visits.

Expectations for all pupils are high and we aim for pupils to master at least age-related expectations.

At St Michael’s we use Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work which aims to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world.

We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. Through the scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time.

History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.

Kapow Primary's History scheme aims to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries.

In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, our scheme aims to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.

The history curriculum at St Michael’s is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to previous learning and that the school’s approaches are informed by current pedagogy. In line with the national curriculum 2014, the curriculum at St

Michael’s aims to ensure that all pupils: Gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of

Britain’s past and that of the wider world which helps to stimulate pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past; Are encouraged to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement; Begin 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.

Implentation

In order to meet the aims of the National curriculum for History and in response to the Ofsted

Research review into History, Kapow History have identified the following key strands:

The Kapow Primary scheme emphasises the importance of historical knowledge being shaped by disciplinary approaches, as shown in the diagram above. These strands are interwoven through all our History units to create engaging and enriching learning experiences which allow the children to investigate history as historians do. Each six-lesson unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place in time of the period they are studying and make comparisons in other parts of the world. Children will develop their awareness of the past in Key stage 1 and will know where people and events fit chronologically. This will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can refer to throughout their learning in Key stage 2 and identifying connections, contrasts and trends over time. The Kapow Primary timeline supports children in developing this chronological awareness. Units are organised around an enquiry-based question and children are encouraged to follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate and conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions.

Over the course of the scheme, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:

 • Change and continuity. • Cause and consequence. • Similarities and differences. • Historical significance. • Historical interpretations. • Sources of evidence.

These concepts will be encountered in different contexts during the study of local, British and world history. Accordingly, children will have varied opportunities to learn how historians use these skills to analyse the past and make judgements. They will confidently develop and use their own historical skill set. As children progress through the Kapow scheme, they will create their own historical enquiries to study using sources and the skills they have developed.

Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, are introduced in Key stage 1, clearly identified in Lower key stage 2 and revisited in Upper key stage 2 (see Progression of skills and knowledge) allowing knowledge of these key concepts to grow.

These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are crucial to their future learning in History.

The Kapow scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. For example, children progress by developing their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of historical contexts and periods. History in Action videos explain the careers and work of those in history and heritage-related fields. Historians, archivists, archaeologists, museum curators, teachers and heritage experts discuss their love of history, how they became interested in the subject, how they got into their jobs and what their jobs involve. Lessons are designed to be varied, engaging and hands-on, allowing children to experience the different aspects of an historical enquiry. In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider world. Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied.

Pupils are also given access to museum resources to help bring history alive. Pupils are also given opportunities to visit Museums. 

Planning is implement according to the needs of the class. Teachers will adapt the planning in order to suit the needs of the class. This maybe through the resources used or how the information is presented.

Impact

The impact of Kapow Primary’s scheme can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, each unit has a skill catcher and knowledge assessment quiz which can be used at the end of the unit to provide a summative assessment. This assessment will then feed into the school’s online assessment system on Sonar where children will be assessed against 3 criteria; emerging, meeting or exceeding expectations. Teachers will judge which description best fits the pupil’s performance. Assessments are tracked so that progress and attainment can be reviewed and acted upon throughout the year. 

After the implementation of Kapow Primary History, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be enquiring learners who ask questions and can make suggestions about where to find the evidence to answer the question. They will be critical and analytical thinkers who are able to make informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of the past.

The expected impact of following the Kapow History scheme of work is that children will:

● Know and understand the history of Britain, how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world. ● Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies and the achievements of mankind. ● Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts - power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind and society. ● Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences. ● Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day. ● Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts. ● Ask historically-valid questions through an enquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts. ● Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence. ● Make connections between historical concepts and timescales. ● Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History.

Workbook scrutiny is conducted by the subject leader. This is sometimes accompanied by the head teacher.

Each term, the subject leader provides a report that analyses data for progress and attainment. From this, threads of enquiry are followed up by the subject leader and shared with governors as part of a Leadership Report.