Burnley Road Academy History

History Intent:

At Burnley Road Academy, history education should be fully inclusive to every child. Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for history; providing a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum; ensuring the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skills; and for the children to develop a love for history. Furthermore, we aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about history that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world (The 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England).

Our history teaching supports our whole school values of:

• courage (when studying societies and individuals who had to display courage during times of hardship),
• compassion (when considering the feelings of people in the past who endured difficulties),
• perseverance (when studying societies or individuals who had to overcome great odds to achieve their aims)
• and teamwork (both through the study of cooperation amongst historical individuals and societies, but also in working together to develop knowledge and deepen understanding). ​​​ 

History teaching at Burnley Road Academy has a wide application to everyday life, teaching the children to enjoy learning about the past and to have a better understanding of the society in which they live.

The aims of teaching history in our school are:

• To inspire pupils’ curiosity to discover more about the past and to develop an understanding that enables them to enjoy all that history has to offer;

• To enable children to know about significant events and figures in British history and to appreciate how things have changed over time;

• To develop a sense of chronology;

• To understand how Britain is part of a wider European culture and to study some aspects of European history;

• To have some knowledge and understanding of historical development in the wider world;

• To help children understand society and their place within it, so that they develop a sense of their cultural heritage;

• To have an understanding of how and why the local area has changed over time;

• To develop in children the skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation, debate, interpretation, problem solving and presentation;

• To learn and use appropriate subject specific vocabulary when speaking and writing about history.

Implementation:

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in history, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school.

History topics are taught two or three times a year, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.

The history curriculum at Burnley Road Academy begins in the Foundation Stage, where children work towards the Understanding the World Early Learning Goals for Past and Present. Teachers plan topics which enable children to achieve the ELGs. Continuous provision is also provided in a variety of areas to broaden and deepen learning opportunities.

From Year 1 onwards, the Burnley Road’s curriculum is based upon the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England, which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills and taught in each Key Stage.

Teachers plan lessons for their class using knowledge mats and a variety of resources.

History teaching focuses on enabling children develop critical thinking skills. A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement. 

History provides excellent opportunities to enhance the learning of more able pupils through the investigations, analysing sources and writing extending pieces. Children showing extensive aptitude in history will be placed on our schools gifted and talented register.

Educational visits are used as opportunities for the teachers to plan for additional history learning outside the classroom. At Burnley Road Academy, all children have opportunities to experience history on educational visits. The children have explored local museums and had visitors into school to share history learning and have hands on experiences.

They leave KS2 achieving in line with national expectations.

Impact:

Within History, emphasis is placed acquiring key knowledge and skills to help children gain a coherent knowledge of understanding of each unit of work covered throughout the school. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.

• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.

• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).

• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.

• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.

• Marking of written work in books.