Aims of the curriculum

The aim of History teaching at Westfield Community School is to stimulate the children's interest and understanding about the life of people in the past.

We teach children gain knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and that of the wider world.

We teach children a sense of chronology from the early years, and through this they develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding of historical heritage.

By considering how people lived in the past and the golden threads running through the curriculum, they are better able to understand the changes that have shaped modern Britain and the wider world.

We also teach the children to investigate past events and by doing so develop the skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem solving.

Curriculum design and sequencing

The design of our curriculum starts with the child.

In early years we develop a sense of their own personal history by studying changes throughout their journey in pre-school.  We then look at the changes within themselves from babies to now in Reception class.  The children in early years are exposed to vocabulary related to history through the text of the week.

In KS1 we explore events within living memory (approx the last 100 years) and learn about the Great Fire of London to give us a sense of events that cannot be remembered by people who are alive.

In KS2 we introduce World History alongside of British History.

This is taught chronologically from the earliest period in History to the most current.  The curriculum is designed this way to support children's understanding of chronology.  We want to take the children on a journey in History!

Long term plans, medium term plans and short term plans allow teachers to adapt the content of lessons to the cohort of children.