At St Joseph and St Bede, we believe a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our curriculum inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and promotes a sense of Awe and Wonder. Through quality first teaching we equip pupils with the skills to ask perceptive questions, think critically, evaluate evidence, formulate arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Our curriculum is designed to develop children’s historical understanding, promote deeper thinking through asking Big Questions and provide a sound understanding of key historical events and their chronology in time. In our History lessons, we ensure that both our pupil’s substantive and disciplinary knowledge is built upon year on year. Substantive knowledge is the knowledge and ‘substance’ of our curriculum e.g. people, dates, features of something. Disciplinary knowledge focuses on the skills our children develop on how to interpret the past, e.g. how do we know what we know about events in History, such as changes in time and place, continuation, causes, sources, investigation and enquiry.
At St Joseph and St Bede, our History teaching will enable pupils to:-
- stimulate curiosity about the past.
- develop research skills needed to access relevant information.
- increase knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain, Europe and the world.
- help pupils develop a sense of identity through studying the history of their locality.
- give opportunities to convey understanding / interpretation of past events in a variety of ways.
- provide situations which foster independent / co-operative activities.
- develop independent research skills through enquiry-based learning.
- develop a sense of chronology.