History

At Discovery Academy, we believe that children learn their best when they are showing the Academy values of Discovering, Inspiring, Caring, Improving and Achieving within our curriculum. We believe in aspiration for all so want to create a world where the sky is the limit for all of our pupils; building pathways for all and focusing on personal and academic success and eventually progress to successful employment.

Subject Intent:

At Discovery Academy, we intend to teach History by following the National Curriculum through a lens that acknowledges our cultural capital. We have identified three key themes that we wish to thread throughout our curriculum:

• Female role models
• Diversity and history from other cultures
• The value of education

Even though that some of the historical content may be more explicit in the manner that it encompasses these areas (e.g. pioneering women, a study of Bagdad), it is expected that these themes will be apparent throughout all areas. Example of this would be focussing on Cleopatra when teaching the Egyptians; the development of education in Greek society; and the influence of people of BAME heritage, such as Dr. Erinma Bell, when studying pioneering women in the local area.

The KS1 curriculum gives children an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the concept of history and develop the use historical vocabulary, while at the same time creating a solid foundation to enhance their understanding further in KS2.

Within KS2, the curriculum has been set out primarily in a chronological order before then allowing learners to explore thematic history. This will allow learners to have a solid understanding of the development of societies throughout the ages and give them the ability to compare, contrast and critically analyse throughout a multitude of time periods. We believe History is a subject that empowers learners both with knowledge and a skill set, which will allow them to succeed in many areas wider than the subject area itself. By the time that children leave Discovery Academy, they will have a love of History that will last a lifetime.

Implementation: When planning History, we tailor the National Curriculum to give meet the needs of learners, while at the same time making sure they have a broad understanding of historical events from many different cultures and background. This is ensured by the use of a curriculum map, which gives each year group an overview of its coverage, while at the same time allowing teachers to cater for the needs and desires of their learners. Every learning journey will marry together key pieces of knowledge needed in order to access a topic area with the skills that will enable children to be historically aware- as well as being able to conduct a historical enquiry. As part of each topic, we will look at themes of Health and Hygiene, Government, Religion, Technology, Art and Morality. When studying History, the children will explore how modern civilisations compares to those of the past and to one another. As a school, we also focus on key events that allow us to reflect upon history such as Black History Month and Remembrance Day.

Non-negotiables:

• Broad and balanced coverage
• Learning journey every term
• Follow bespoke curriculum
• Mastery for all
• Focus on skills and knowledge

Supporting SEND learners

Impact: Formative Assessment: Children will be assessed weekly against clear learning challenges. Feedback should be given in order to allow children to progress further or address any misconceptions which may have arisen (see marking policy for further details).
Summative Assessment: Teachers will assess their children against the statements based on the National Curriculum and how well the children are achieving within History; these judgements will be moderated with peers and leaders in order to ensure their accuracy.

History Whole School Map