History is about people and is unique in the way their behaviour takes centre stage every lesson. It helps us learn what it is to be human. It can also give students an understanding of how things came to be as they are and helps us to understand our own and other societies in the world.
History can enable us to question and make sense of our locality and is a subject that is all around us. History can also bring a sense of identity and belonging and a pride in our heritage and achievements, as well as recognising failings and mistakes.
A summary of the skills acquired
History encourages us to think and reflect. It helps us to make our own interpretations and decisions about people and their behaviour. It involves critical and analytical thinking and is an enquiry. It therefore supports the asking of big and small questions about people in the past. History encourages us to be responsible and respect each other’s views and interpretations. History involves the purposeful enquiry and use of a range of sources to draw conclusions and build meaningful narratives. It also helps support literacy development with use of a variety of forms of reading, writing and debate.
Key Stage 3 Intent
To provide an overview of a thousand years of British (and some units of non-British history), incorporating three main strands:
These three strands will be explored through enquiry based teaching embedding contextual knowledge and a chronological framework underpinned by the key skills examined at GCSE:
What will we expect of history students at the end of KS3?
A good history student will:
The KS3 History course provides students with a chronological knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain and the wider world. Students will develop their knowledge and understanding of continuity and change, and their ability to explain events and developments. They will do this by studying changes in political power, religious developments, and social change. They will follow enquiries to examine the impact of these changes on people’s lives and on the development of the UK. They will also develop their awareness of different ideas and interpretations about the past. They will be able to recognise and then to evaluate, different views of the past based on their knowledge and on the provenance of historical sources. The course will provide a basis for the skills required at GCSE.
Key Stage 4
At KS4, students build on the foundations laid in KS3 and further develop their knowledge and understanding of history. Connections are made between the KS4 and KS3 programmes of study, for example, between Medieval Britain, Early Modern Britain, Industrial Britain and the medical changes that took place In the same way we cover the First World War and Germany. Students also develop their history skills with increasing complexity in areas such as analysis, evaluation, explanation, substantiating conclusions and formulating arguments based on evidence. An additional significant focus is on chronology so students develop their understanding of historical narratives and an overview of the topics studied. This is particularly important regarding their understanding of change, continuity and turning-points. By the end of the five years, they have become more independent and have been prepared for further study.
It is our intention to support the learning of all abilities through effective differentiation and challenge. It is also our intention to support students who may be socially disadvantaged through providing access to our resources, for example, our topic booklets and revision resources for KS4.
When planning lessons, we use all SEND information documents available; pupil passports, IEP/EHCP documents and reading ag,e to ensure a sound knowledge of individuals' needs and that appropriate resources are used to support learning. Each class has a folder that contains all the above information and an annotated seating plan.
During department meetings we share good practice and use work scrutinies to prioritise students with SEND and assess how effectively progress is being made. If not, we make reasonable adjustments to their experience based on the information we hold and liaise with the SENDCo where appropriate.
When planning our schemes of work, we ensure that we create a spiral curriculum in which there is an iterative revisiting of topics, subjects or themes throughout the course. This ensures a deepening of skills and knowledge, with each successive encounter building on the previous one.
We ensure that each class has a set seating plan to enable us to identify SEND students and deliver timely support. This allows us to implement the whole school RADAR policy.
Moreover, department meetings have a standing SEND point on the agenda where discussions take place to identify and plan for individual needs.
We welcome the students into the classroom, ensuring all students feel recognised. We use routine and procedure to establish common expectations, e.g the DIN task is always on the board or, where appropriate, printed out and on desks.
We use learning at Pilton techniques to ensure consistency of experience.
Resources are created to ensure all students can access the lesson.
Radar and be seen looking are used to ensure all students understand and engage with the task.
We pre-warn students when we are about to cold-call for questions.
During independent “you do” tasks we circulate consistently, looking to identify and engage with those in need of support.
When unknown or new individual needs show themselves during a lesson, we communicate this to SENDCo through the initial concerns for
We use the evidence seen in student books to inform our planning of the next lesson .
