History

Curriculum intent: History

The study of History supports our young historians to build a temporal awareness and a developing sense of identity as they come to understand their place in the story of human development. At Merchants’ Academy Primary, we understand that engaging children by investigating questions about people and events in the past helps them to better understand their lives today and prepares them for the future as more informed, global citizens who are passionate and inquisitive about the past. Providing our children with a relevant, interesting and challenging History curriculum is fundamental for preparing them for secondary school and adult life since it:

• Supports them to understand the complexity of people’s lives; the process of change; the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as some of the challenges of their time.
• Develops skills of critical thinking which means making reasoned judgements that are logical and well thought out and not merely accepting arguments and conclusions as they are presented but having a healthy, discerning and questioning attitude about new information.
• Supports them to appreciate that all knowledge is socially constructed and its objectivity and reliability is therefore open to critiquing through asking perceptive questions, weighing evidence, sifting arguments, developing perspective and judgements and reaching informed conclusions. We aim to equip children with the knowledge and confidence they need to challenge viewpoints which may be biased or prejudiced and to champion worthy causes in order that they can play their part in making the world a better place.
• Helps to build a sense of identity and belonging on a personal, cultural, national and global level as pupils come to appreciate the diversity of human experiences and consequently understand more about themselves and as members of society.
• Enables pupils to understand core concepts such as cause and consequence, similarity and difference, continuity and change, change and progress/regression, significance, evidence, chronology, empathy, context, diversity, perspective, interconnectivity and validity which have broad relevance and significance in the modern world.

Children at Merchant’s Academy Primary will achieve highly in history through understanding and knowing more, doing more and remembering more. We have planned a curriculum in History from EYFS – Year 6 which is:

• Aspirational to allow our children to become successful, enthusiastic and young historians. This is done by providing our pupils with opportunities to develop their substantive and disciplinary knowledge, master and apply subject concepts, skills and techniques and gain the necessary, subject-specific language and technical terms to communicate their understanding effectively. Such high aspirations are clearly identifiable in our progression and curriculum maps and on our knowledge organisers, which define what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do;
• Coherent, broad and balanced in terms of the areas of subject content we have selected which reflect the guidance of and meets the scope and ambition of the national curriculum, which it has been crafted around. For example, we have ensured that content coverage includes both in depth investigations of the events of specific periods in the past (Great Fire of London) as well as overview enquiries which give a greater sense of the chronology of continuity and change in particular themes and dimensions such as British Empire. In addition, the history of our local community and area is celebrated to allow our children to appreciate the historical significance of people, places and events in their own area.
• Sequenced to ensure that children can expand on their prior knowledge and understanding each year as they partake in more complex enquiries and that current learning is linked to previous learning. New knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and pupils work towards clearly defined end points. For example, in Key Stage 1 pupils learn about the ways in which archaeologists interpret the past through looking at Samuel Pepys’s diary and Victorian artefacts, are introduced to the concepts of continuity and change (Victorian childhood then and now) and significant people, places and events, all of which they later build on in Key Stage 2. Concepts such as empire and civilization are learnt and built upon in further years. For example, in Year 3, children learn about what the Ancient Greeks achieved, learn the concept of a civilisation, which is then applied in Year 4 when learning about the Ancient Egyptian cvilisation. By the end of Year 6, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day. British history in Key Stage 2 is set out in chronological order to allow children to reference the previous events in time and to refer to his prior learning year-on-year and within the year. Interlinked with this are studies of world history, such as the ancient civilisations of Greece and Egypt.
• Progressive to ensure that the substantive knowledge, historical concepts and disciplinary knowledge are more challenging and complex as they progress from EYFS to Year 6. anticipated outcomes are detailed in our curriculum and progression map and on our knowledge organisers. In terms of historical skills, we ensure that our pupils are supported to examine and interpret primary and secondary resources of evidence right from the beginning of their studies in early years. We place a real emphasis on using resources and sources of information about the past to understand the importance of critiquing these sources and question their validity and trustworthiness.
• Continuity with the provision for History established in the EYFS and in particular that which addresses the knowledge and skills’ expectations of the Understanding the World are of learning and Past and Present Early Learning Goal;
• Inclusive in terms of delivering the same curriculum to all of our pupils and differentiating provision where necessary through, for example, class support, providing different learning environment, alternative earning activities and assessment outcomes.

Cultural Capital is embedded in our curriculum. Running alongside our broad, rich curriculum are a wide range of experiences to enhance our History curriculum. High-quality trips, experiences and visits are carefully organized to support their learning and provide opportunities to develop and consolidate skills and concepts introduced in the classroom and allow pupils to extend their understanding through investigating History in the ‘real world’.

Years 7, 8 and 9

In Years 7, 8 and 9 we focus on British, European and World history to give our young people a broad understanding of the events which have shaped the world in which we live. We focus on enquiry based learning to engage and stimulate our students. The teaching of history is also aimed to not only build knowledge of the past but also develop the skills required at GCSE and the transferable skills required to fulfil students’ academic potential.

Topics studied and content covered include:

Years 10 & 11

Course Title: GCSE History
Exam Board: Edexcel
Qualification: GCSE

About the course

The course is split into 3 examinations and 4 key topics:

• Medicine through time, c1250–present.
• Elizabethan England, 1558–88
• Spain and the "New World" c1490-c1555
• Weizmar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience. To engage in historical enquiry and to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers. Students will develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context. Students of history also develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them. Students will also learn to organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.

How it is assessed

Unit 1: Thematic study and historic environment Written examination: 1 hour and 15 minutes - Medicine through time, c1250–present. 30% of total qualification.

Unit 2: Period study and British depth study Written examination: 1 hour and 45 minutes - Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88 & Spain & The "New World" c1490-c1555. 40% of total qualification.

Unit 3: Modern depth study Written examination: 1 hour and 15 minutes - Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39. 30% of total qualification.

Further information: http://origin.qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html

Years 12 & 13

Course Title: A Level History
Exam Board: AQA
Qualification: A Level

About the course

Our A level History qualification has been designed to help students understand the significance of historical events, the role of individuals in history and the nature of change over time. This qualification will help students to gain a deeper understanding of the past through political, social, economic and cultural perspectives. The engaging topics available to them throughout the course will provide them with the knowledge and skills they require to succeed as A-level historians.

Overview of content

Students study:

• The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
• Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945
• Personal historical investigation – The Battle for Civil Rights for African Americans

Component 1:  The Tudors: England 1485-1603

Overview of content: The study of significant historical developments over a period of around 100 years and associated interpretations.

This option allows students to study in breadth issues of change, continuity, cause and consequence in this period through the following key questions:

• How effectively did the Tudors restore and develop the powers of the monarchy?
• In what ways and how effectively was England governed during this period?
• How did relations with foreign powers change and how was the succession secured?
• How did English society and economy change and with what effects?
• How far did intellectual and religious ideas change and develop and with what effects?
• How important was the role of key individuals and groups and how were they affected by developments?

Contribution to final grade: 40% of A-level

How it is assessed

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes. Students answers three questions (one compulsory). Total for the paper is 80 marks.

Component 2:  Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-1945

Overview of content:

This unit provides for the study in depth of a period of German history during which a newly developed democratic form of government gave way to a dictatorial Nazi regime. It explores political concepts such as 'right' and 'left', nationalism and liberalism as well as ideological concepts such as racialism, anti-Semitism and Social Darwinism. It also encourages reflection on how governments work and the problems of democratic states as well as consideration of what creates and sustains a dictatorship.

Contribution to final grade: 40% of A-level

How it is assessed

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes. Students answers three questions (one compulsory). Total for the paper is 80 marks.

Component 3:  Personal historical investigation: The Battle for Civil Rights for African Americans

Overview of content:

A personal study based on a topic of student's choice. This should take the form of a question in the context of approximately 100 years. This will be based around the topic of Civil Rights for African Americans but students have some control over the question they choose to investigate.

Contribution to final grade: 20%

How it is assessed

Students complete a 3,000 – 3,500 word essay worth a total of 40 marks which is marked by teachers and moderated by AQA.

For further information: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/as-and-a-level