History Implementation: How we teach and learn...

We teach our pupils using a 2 year rolling programme.  This allows us to build resources and staff knowledge around the topics we have selected to teach. Staff have identified key History skills and these are revisited and assessed on an ongoing basis in lessons. Learning objectives for each lesson are broken down into key knowledge and skills, and teachers assess against these, with next steps offered to challenge thinking. Pupils are taught to make notes during teacher input and when exploring artefacts or sources, as part of our focus on supporting children’s working memory. We seek to provide memorable experiences that will help the learning to 'stick', promote discussion and encourage empathy. This approach supports our learners with SEND and those with minimal cultural capital. Children are taught the skills to evaluate a range of evidence and draw conclusions from this. Guided reading sessions are often used to familiarise children with background knowledge on history topics. The use of artefacts and primary sources engages pupils, and structured opportunities for discussion support those with barriers to literacy.

We teach children to use an historical enquiry cycle to experience the processes historians use to find out about the past: