History

Curriculum Intent

• To provide the opportunity for students to reach their potential and make strong progress in History.
• To develop, in students, a sense of passion for the subject and why learning about the past is so vital to them, their community, their society and their world.
• Students will acquire and improve academic writing skills as well as an ability to work with and by using different historical concepts: change and continuity; cause and consequence; similarity and difference; significance; chronology.
• Focus on marginal gains and the creation of a growth mindset to create excellent historians and students.
• Create students with academic resilience who understand the worth of effort and hard-work in achieving progress.
• Lessons develop collaborative teamwork skills and a firm understanding that other people have different opinions that may be just as valid.
• Lessons also ensure students are able to develop their own views in a historical setting but also on wider issues that affect people in the wider world.
• Students gain and develop their own values and morals whilst learning about the past and use this to build empathy with others.
• Cultural capital is increased given the cross-curricular nature of the subject with geographical, cultural, sociological, philosophical and political aspects embedded.
• Students will know the range of careers that the study of History allows students to pursue in latter life; History builds academic skills that support students in all areas

Curriculum Implementation

• Our department has high expectations of all students and firmly believes that with the required effort students are able to reach their true potential.
• We are an inclusive and supportive department that both aids and celebrates the progress and successes of all types of students.
• Challenge is a key aspect of the department – seen by #challenge – and all students are encouraged and pushed to go beyond their comfort zone.
• We promote academic reading and writing as well as numeracy from Foundation upwards – seen by #literacy and #numeracy – understanding how this will help them not just in History but in all subjects; reading lists are shared with students as well as an upcoming ‘Historical Library’ in development.
• Homework is used to develop understanding and ensure students are confident in their knowledge using the ‘4 Rs’ of Reading, Recall, Research and Revision.
• As well as aiming to create excellent historians, we focus on teaching students a combination of content and knowledge with technique and application so they are able to do their best in assessments and examinations.
• Personal Learning Checklists (PLCs) are given to students at the start of every topic to allow them to compare their initial knowledge and understanding at the start with what they have gained at the end.
• Key Words Glossaries (KWGs) are also given to students at the start of every topic to familiarise them with terms they need to know and use in their work and become more comfortable with in lessons.
• We offer drop-in sessions for KS4 and KS5 students to promote revision and examination skills on a regular basis.