History
Intent
A Hertford Heath, the History curriculum is designed to inspire pupils’ curiosity about the past and help them develop a secure understanding of how people, events and civilisations have shaped the world we live in today. Using the Kapow History scheme as the foundation of our curriculum, we provide a broad, coherent and carefully sequenced programme that enables pupils to build a secure chronological understanding and make meaningful connections across periods of history.
Our intent is for pupils to become knowledgeable historians who can ask perceptive questions, think critically, evaluate evidence and consider different interpretations of the past. Through the study of significant events, individuals, societies and civilisations, pupils learn how history has influenced local, national and global developments. They develop a sense of chronology, an awareness of legacy and change over time, and an appreciation of diversity within and across historical periods.
We want pupils to see History as a subject that helps them understand identity, society and the wider world. The curriculum is inclusive and ambitious, ensuring that all pupils acquire the historical knowledge, vocabulary and disciplinary skills needed to achieve well and to think deeply about the past.
Implementation
History is taught through the Kapow History scheme, which provides a clear progression of knowledge and skills from Early Years through to the end of Key Stage 2. The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils revisit key concepts and deepen their understanding over time.
Teachers use the scheme to ensure that pupils are taught essential historical knowledge and disciplinary skills, including:
- chronology and the order of key events and periods
- historical enquiry and asking relevant questions
- using sources and evidence
- identifying cause and consequence
- understanding similarity and difference
- recognising change and continuity
- making comparisons across periods and societies
- developing an awareness of significance and interpretation
Lessons are structured to support pupils in thinking and working like historians. Pupils study a range of sources, artefacts, images and written accounts to build their understanding and to evaluate evidence. They are encouraged to discuss, justify and explain their ideas using subject-specific vocabulary. The curriculum is designed to ensure that knowledge is revisited and built upon, allowing pupils to make connections between topics and develop a secure historical overview.
Teachers adapt lessons to meet the needs of all learners through modelling, scaffolding, guided discussion and appropriate challenge. The scheme supports pupils to develop confidence in reading and interpreting historical information, as well as in communicating their understanding clearly in speech and writing.
History is enriched through storytelling, enquiry, debate and opportunities to explore perspectives from different times and places. Our curriculum helps pupils to understand how the past has shaped the present, whilst also encouraging respect for different cultures, beliefs and experiences.