Our ambitious curriculum embraces individual needs to ensure each child flourishes.  We look at where our children need to be and support them to get there.   

Intent

At Thorpe School, we aim for every child to: -

• know and understand the history of the British Isles as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’ and ‘settlement’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections and draw contrasts
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts: understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history and between short- and long-term timescales
• consider the experience and culture of our children to provide a range of learning opportunities to challenge their thinking and encourage curiosity. 

 

Most of all, to enjoy learning and develop as young Historians.

Implementation

Children learn key facts and concepts alongside skills such as chronological understanding, how to analyse and evaluate historical evidence, how to empathise with people from different eras and how to compare and contrast life in different periods. 

• Reception – Things that happen in my day/my year, Changes from when I was a baby
• Year 1 – Favourite Queens (Elizabeth II and Victoria), Toys from the 1960’s, Local history–Windsor Castle
• Year 2 – The Great Fire of London, Local history makers (Hilda Hewitt), Transport
• Year 3 – Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Egyptians
• Year 4 – Roman Britain, Anglo Saxons, Mayans
• Year 5 – Vikings, The changing power of the monarchy, Journeys
• Year 6 – World War l and ll (links with local area), Ancient Greece

In EYFS, through the specific area of Understanding the World, children are encouraged to explore the physical world and their community, increasing the frequency and range of their personal experiences. They will sequence and order objects in chronological order and answer questions about the past, using vocabulary such as a long time ago, recently, when my … were younger, years, decades, centuries. 

Children’s historical learning in Key Stage One starts with the familiar – looking at toys they play with today and comparing them to toys their grandparents played within the 1960s. As children’s learning travels further back in time History is brought to life through a trip to Windsor Castle.

In Key Stage Two the history of Britain is interwoven with that of the Ancient Civilisations of Egypt and Greece. In conjunction with Chertsey Museum, immersive workshop days are planned for Prehistoric Britain, The Romans and The Homefront to develop children’s understanding of life in Britain during different eras. Trips to Haslemere Museum and Chertsey Museum further the children’s understanding and increase their curiosity. 

Children express their learning through drama, art, discussion and writing.

Impact

The impact of the History curriculum at Thorpe C of E Primary can be seen through:

• Clear evidence that our children have shown progress and attainment in line with the National Curriculum
• Our children demonstrate enthusiasm for the subject and can talk with confidence about history
• Our children demonstrate an understanding of a range of historical vocabulary which can be applied confidently
• As historians, our children can use their skills to pose questions, evaluate evidence and draw conclusions