Introduction:

The learning and teaching of History at Freemantle Church of England Community Academy Trust aims to provide opportunities to understand, appreciate and enjoy the multi-cultural world in which we live and to celebrate its rich diversity. We aim to develop children’s ability to chronicle, investigate and explain the past to help them understand our world as it is.

Intent:

Our intent is to provide our pupils with a coherent historical narrative of the British Isles from pre-history to the second world war looking at ancient civilisations in the wider world on the way and exploring how they have influenced the development of the UK. We ensure our curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced, with a clear progression of both substantive knowledge and vocabulary using our Skills and Knowledge Progression document, which is tailored to meet the needs of our Freemantle children. History is rich with exciting stories and different realties. As a subject it provides perfect opportunities for writing and creating fiction. As a consequence, history is hard wired in to our teaching of reading and writing. The journey from Stone Age to modern Britain is the most exciting story imaginable. We want our children to feel excited and enthused about history and, eager to find out more and to continue their conversations outside of school implementations.

Implementation:

Each year group will teach the areas of history identified in the Freemantle’s long-term plan to ensure coverage of statutory knowledge and skills using an enquiry-led approach. The school’s History progression of skills will be used to identify the learning objectives for each year groups, in line with the schools raised expectations. Each lesson begins with a question and discussion and the understanding of both substantive and specific vocabulary is at the forefront of each one. The use of discussion and adaptive teaching, enables an inclusive environment where all pupils can be involved. A quick-fire quiz, which follows a similar assessment procedure to reading, is also implemented at the start of each lesson and informs staff of planning for future lessons. Wherever possible a cross-curricular approach will be taken to the teaching of history. Lessons will often be inked to the children’s learning in English.

Impact: 

As a result of a language and vocabulary rich curriculum, all pupils are confident historians, who can think critically and orally demonstrate their understanding. Our creative curriculum ensures children are equipped with the knowledge and skills to move forward into KS3, whilst preparing them for the wider world. Furthermore, our creative curriculum ensures pupils cultural capital is enhanced through a well-resourced provision which enables a wide-range of enrichment opportunities, to deepen pupil’s historical skills and knowledge as well as foster a long-lasting enjoyment for history. Making cross-curricular links and embedding history within the Freemantle half-termly Themes, ensures history is at the forefront of pupil’s experiences throughout school. Lastly, making use of local resources has ensured children are provided with ample opportunities to think like a historian and see the relevance in what they are learning.

Please click on the below links to find out more about history at Freemantle.