Discover (Autumn Term)
If you have any questions regarding our history curriculum please speak to our History Lead Sarita Pullen on 01296 488331 or email sarita.pullen@bcsglt.co.uk
At Bearbrook, our history curriculum is primarily taught in the first term and is woven through each of the Explore and Create projects.
Curriculum Intent
The 'Discover' element of our curriculum aims to provide an exciting historical journey through time. It will enable our pupils to gain a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and the wider world.
It will inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and understand how the past influences the present. It encourages pupils to ask questions, think critically and weigh up evidence to help them reach informed conclusions.
History also helps our pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change and the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups. Children will gain a sense of identity within a social, political and economic background.
Curriculum Implementation
During the Autumn Term, our Discover Projects have a history focus. It is our aim to provide the children with an opportunity to develop their sense of curiosity about the past and be able to investigate and interpret it, understanding the chronology as well as developing an overview of the history of Britain and the wider world. At Bearbrook School, we believe that children should leave us with a firm understanding of historical events that influence current and future choices and should inspire them to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians.
Our aim is for all pupils to develop skills and knowledge and understanding in the following:
Historical Enquiry
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence and different sources are used to make historical claims and why and how contrasting arguments of the past have been constructed.
Chronology
Place their growing knowledge into different contexts and understand connections between local, regional, national and international history within short and long-term timescales.
Historical Knowledge
Know and understand how Britain and the wider world have been shaped and influenced by civilisations, events, societies, and individuals people from the past.
Historical Interpretation
Understand historical concepts such as continuity, consequence, reform, and change and use them to make connections, draw contrasts (across, as well as within, periods of time), and communicate how history has been interpreted by others, leading to their own evidence-based interpretations.
Curriculum Impact
Mrs Pullen carried out a second ‘Deep Dive’ alongside the Great Learners Trust. We evaluated how effectively our curriculum was meeting our aims set out in our intent and the progress made since the previous Deep Dive. This process included looking at planning children’s work and talking to the children about their learning.
Outcomes:
- Children enjoy their history lessons.
- The lessons provide more ‘hands-on’ learning for the children – they are ‘doing’ history and learning what it is like to be a historian.
- There is better coverage of the curriculum.
- The coverage and progression can be seen clearly in books and through talking to the children.
- Mrs Mitchell continues to provide excellent opportunities to build their understanding of cultural capital through purposeful and meaningful experiences.
- There has been an improvement in the number of trips and the quality of the trips offered to support the learning of the history curriculum.
- Teachers are using Key Stage History to access primary sources of evidence, which is evident from books.
- More evidence of Authentic Outcomes taking place.
Next Steps:
- Ensure that the Enquiry Question is revisited at the end of every lesson and that it is answered by all at the end of the unit.
- Ensure the use of Mosaic starters to revisit prior learning.
- Develop an assessment tool for teachers to assess children’s progress in history.