History

History at Gateway Primary School

At Gateway Primary School we nurture each child’s curiosity and intrigue into the past to develop forward thinking historians. We link our history topics to the current world and compare and contrast the social, cultural, or religious diversity in key periods. We make links with real life and offer immersion days to enrich the learning of the topics taught. Alongside this, we celebrate equality by representing a diverse Britain both past and present. Furthermore women's role in history, highlighting significant individuals who have influenced change in Britain and around the world. By teaching History in a cross curricular way we allow each child to gain a deeper understanding of certain aspects and themes in History. We actively encourage children to ask questions, think critically and to understand the complexities of peoples lives and the impact of change over time.

KS1

In Key Stage One we begin our historical journey by identifying events within our living memory in our ‘All about me’ and ‘Who am I?’ topics. We also link our historical enquires to real life by reaching out to the local community to find out about the changes to the local area within living memory. We follow significant individuals such as Neil Armstrong and Henry Ford to identify their impact on key topics such as transportation and space.

KS2

In Key Stage Two, we make connections between historical events and periods of significant change, with current world affair, for example, the movement of Anglo-Saxon tribes from Europe to Britain to the refugee crisis and their migration across Europe today. We also compare the Maya Civilisation in Central America with the peak of the Anglo Saxons in Britain, where we identify similarities in cultures half a world apart. Furthermore, our topics on Roman and World War Britain link to changes we can see today as a result of these significant events or time periods.

History offers children an opportunity to develop their skills as historians by:

• Sequencing events, using timelines and chronological vocabulary to deepen their chronological understanding.
• Using a range and depth of historical knowledge, describing and retelling significant events from the past.
• Using primary and secondary sources to prompt questioning and come to conclusions, in particular their validity and use for these conclusions. This develops their interpretation and understanding of history.
• Historical enquiry, asking questions and using evidence to prompt lines of enquiry to answer these questions.
• Their historical organisation and communication by recalling, selecting and organising their knowledge and communicating this in various ways.

History lessons at Gateway allow children to:

• Use artefacts to develop their curiosity for the past and ask questions in a safe respectful environment.
• Learn how to select sources of evidence and use these to support lines of historical enquiry.
• Make connections to their social setting and those from a range of cultures and time periods.
• Understand the difference between past and present and that people from different times and places may have held different values and beliefs.
• Develop their knowledge and understanding of British history as well as cultures, significant individuals and civilisations internationally.