With specific regards to History, the United Learning curriculum provides all children, with coherent and chronological substantive knowledge, opportunities for all pupils all pupils to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, but also to be taken beyond their own experiences, disciplinary and procedural knowledge (giving our pupils the ability to learn how to think, read and write like a historian) and encourages an excitement for history, which inspires a curiosity to learn about the past.

Intent | Why do we teach what we teach?

Pupils are taught disciplinary knowledge, including change, cause, similarity and difference and significance, throughout each unit.

The United Curriculum for history provides all children with:

• Coherent and chronological substantive knowledge of the history of the Britain and the wider world, selected to build pupils’ understanding of three vertical concepts. These vertical concepts provide both a concrete lens through which to study and contextualise history, as well as use small steps to help pupils gain a deep understanding of complex, abstract ideas:
  • Quest for knowledge
  • Power, empire and democracy
  • Community and family
• Opportunities for all pupils to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, but also to be taken beyond their own experiences. The history curriculum teaches pupils about civilisations from across the world, and always incorporates the experiences – positive and negative – of ethnic minorities in the history of Britain.
• Grounding in core disciplinary and procedural knowledge, and the ability to approach challenging, historically-valid questions, giving pupils the ability for pupils to learn how to think, read and write like a historian.
• An excitement for history, which inspires a curiosity to learn more about the past.

Local context is vitally important to give our children an idea of Plymouth and the South West’s role in local, national and world history.

Implementation | What do we teach and when?

The United Learning Curriculum is planned sequenced so that meaningful links are made between subjects, and the order of units allows these connections to be made. 

When teaching History, we ensure robust coverage and deep understanding. Within the unit, we use live marking, questioning, capturing pupil voice and recall tools (for example, Graphic Organisers) to formatively assess our pupil’s skills, knowledge, and progress. At the end of a unit, we use quizzes to summative assess, identify gaps and recognise patterns across classes, year groups and key stages.  Across the year, we ensure retention through recall activities and low stake quizzes.

Impact | Year 2 - History Retell | Robert Falcon Scott