History and Geography at St.Helen's

Connected Curriculum Intent:

It is our intent that the children in our schools to enjoy learning through our ‘connected curriculum’. It is designed to help the children make connections…

1. with one another within each individual school
2. between both schools
3. with local and global communities
4. to our past as we learn from those that have gone before us
5. with future generations by considering the footprint we are leaving behind
6. across different subjects in order to fully immerse themselves in their learning, to make subject matter meaningful and to maximise learning time.

At the heart of our curriculum is the notion that our children will become ‘brave change-makers’. We want to help the children in our schools to develop the skills and confidence to speak out and to make a difference.

The main national curriculum drivers for our connected curriculum is our History and Geography intent.

Drivers

The curriculum has three core drivers which have been carefully planned and documented by the two schools.

Teachers use the progressions documents for each of these to ensure that learning builds upon previous learning especially in History and Geography. 

Subjects/Topic (Head)

The curriculum subjects have been mapped to ensure coverage and with careful consideration of the opportunities to explore the global theme through the topic. These are recorded on the Long Term Planning document.

Global Themes (Heart)

In years 1-6 we plan our curriculum on a two year rolling programme which enables us to explore deeper in our learning. In reception, all 6 themes are taught to ensure that children get a balanced introduction to the curriculum and the pace of learning is appropriate to children’s developmental stage.

Brave Change-maker skills (Hands)

Central to the curriculum is that it gives our children the skills and knowledge they need, through topics that allow pupils to question, probe, think deeply about and challenge perception, making a mark in their communities. In our schools, this is what is known as a developing as a brave change-maker.

History Intent: Concepts

At St.Helen’s we want our learners to love History; we aspire for them to have no limits to their ambitions and hope to enthuse a future generation. We want them to embody our core values: we believe that we can all inspire and achieve together in History. The history curriculum has been carefully intertwined through our connected curriculum approach so that our children develop a knowledge of the past, the ability to question, make use of sources and this has shaped the modern world.

Implementation:

History is taught through our Connected curriculum where children will be immersed in experiences (trough trips, artefacts and guests), opportunities to research, question the past and its impact on the current/future and articulate their thoughts. History is a main curriculum driver for us. Through the implementation of our connected curriculum, children have the opportunities to delve deeper into historical themes in line with the National Curriculum expectations and to use this knowledge to answer our big question. The enquiry model provokes interest and supports the acquisition of knowledge by combining elements of other subjects as children explore the 'big question'. Children are taught a wide range of historical periods as they progress through the school. As they progress through the school, they will unpick and delve deeper into more ancient time periods such as the Stone Age and Egyptians.

Impact:

The subject leader ensures that both knowledge and skills are taught simultaneously through monitoring of enquiry overviews, learning walks, pupil voice and book scrutiny.

Each concept has specific strands which target elements of the history national curriculum which enable the teacher to assess whether pupils in each year group have achieved the ‘expected’ standard.

Specific historical language is also identified and used throughout the school.

Geography:

Intent:

We aspire for all children to be enthused and knowledgeable about the awesome variety of physical and human features of our planet, which in turn inspires a life-long interest in the subject of Geography.

Children first need to understand their place in the world and this starts with being able to explore and investigate their own locality and environment before progressing to consider uniquely diverse and global phenomena.

Through providing a realm of opportunities to provoke and provide answers to questions we aspire to encourage and motivate children to understand how they can be responsible citizens and recognise their responsibility to protect the planet for future generations through sustainable development and this has been planned to link very closely to our Connected Curriculum.

Implementation:

Across the year, each year group in Key Stages 1 and 2 will have a central topic that looks at a key aspect of Geography or History; geography topics are therefore taught around three times per year in each class. Classes dedicate at least an hour a week to either history or geography and cross-curricular links are often made. We ensure that children are taught a wide range of geographical phenomena as they progress through the school. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Carefully planned Geography units enable key skills, knowledge and understanding to be gained by the children in school.

As well as ensuring children learn about the geography of Britain and the wider world, opportunities to explore the local environment are exploited..

Our Geography topics lead themselves to a broad and balanced cross-curricular learning experience which includes:

To have curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.

To understand and describe key human and physical geographical features of the world.

To understand the formation and use of landscapes and environments.

To be able to interpret a range of geographical information such as maps and diagrams.

As they progress, to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes and develop critical thinking about the causes and effects of human and physical geography phenomena, including climate change.

Impact

The subject leader ensures that both knowledge and skills are taught simultaneously through monitoring of topic plans, learning walks, pupil voice and book scrutiny. Children will use geographical language to describe and discuss their knowledge of the world.

Children will develop a love for geography which will be shown through their enthusiasm in lessons, uptake of geography home learning tasks and questions they ask to deepen their own understanding.

History Skills and Knowledge Progression Year Group Overview

Geography Skills and Knowledge Progression Year Group Overview 

From the Year Group's skills and knowledge progression grid Medium Term planning is developed. Click on the link below to find out more.

Example of History and Geography skills and knowledge progression maps: Medium Term Planning.