History has a prominent place in the curriculum at St Nicholas of Tolentine. Based on the National Curriculum coverage, we have created an ambitious programme that is diverse and meets the needs of the learners in our school. We feel strongly that children need to see themselves represented in the curriculum in order to value themselves and see themselves in a broader historical context.  As such, we have developed our own schemes of learning with our children and our city at the heart of it.

Each year, we have a whole school local history term, where each class studies an individual who lived in Bristol and made a significant contribution to the city. We want children to discover the lives of ordinary people who have made a difference to the local area, contributed to the city and made Bristol what it is. Children understanding their place in the history of the locality is an essential starting point in developing their awareness of how this relates to their personal and family history.

Each history lesson includes a key question, a substantive knowledge element and a key skill, as well as relevant subject-specific and historical vocabulary. (See our Progression Map)

Knowledge

Using the National Curriculum, we ensure we teach the breadth of topics required within our subject content. Given the mixed year groups in some classes, we have carefully considered the learning journey of each pupil to ensure that every part of the National Curriculum History Content is covered for each cohort. (See National Curriculum Coverage by Cohort document)

Skills

Our History Skills Ladder shows the progression of skills in each area of History throughout the year groups. This document also outlines which terms the skills are taught in. We teach historical skills in a fun, immersive way using a range of hands-on activities. Pupils are expected to express their understanding through written work at least 3 times per term in their topic books. In other lessons, we capture pupils’ understanding through photographs and captions in our Floorbooks. In this way, more time is dedicated to practical work such as handling artefacts, role play and presentations. This inclusive way of teaching allows all pupils to develop a wide range of skills without barriers to learning such as SEND or EAL. It also encourages group work, discussion and oracy.

Chronology

At St Nicholas of Tolentine, we see the understanding of historical time as a learning process within each child. Rather than an episodic model of teaching periods of history in chronological order, we understand that children develop their own understanding of chronology from within. In order to support this important stage of children’s development and understanding, we begin by teaching our youngest children to learn about their own personal histories and allowing this understanding to grow as the children grow. In EYFS, children begin by sharing their knowledge of significant individuals in their own lives through their work on their Understanding the World topics. In Year 1, the same theme grows whilst children study the topic of Toys, giving them the opportunity to make links between their own experiences and those of their parents and grandparents. It is vital that children are able to discuss and sequence these important ideas before moving on to understand other topics in History.

Throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, strong links are made between each event and period of time studied through the use of timelines. A strong emphasis is placed on vocabulary in all of our history teaching, with children given opportunities to articulate their opinions and questions using age-appropriate vocabulary that progresses each year. Our yearly focus on local history across the whole school further supports children’s understanding of recent history, as many of the significant Bristolians studied have strong links with our school and community. This helps children to see themselves represented and make comparisons between recent and ancient history.