At Marshwood CE Primary, we aim to develop children’s historical appreciation and understanding through engaging and meaningful sequences of lessons. Our units of work are built on core concepts which are revisited throughout the school. We nurture a curiosity about the past and to think and support children to act as historians whilst developing their historical knowledge. Children are supported to understand how the past has shaped the present and will continue to shape decisions that will affect the future. As a result of high-quality teaching in history, children develop their enquiry skills through evaluation of evidence, critical thinking, and developing perspective and judgement.  

In history, our children in Key Stage 1 are taught to consider changes within living memory, events beyond living memory and the lives of significant individuals in the past. In Key Stage 2, children develop their sense and understanding of chronology through local, British and world history. Throughout the school, we provide opportunities for children to learn about history on a local, national and global basis, building their knowledge about different periods and encouraging them to draw on similarities, contrasts and key changes.  Historical skills, including those of chronological understanding and historical enquiry, are developed progressively within and across different year groups. Children’s knowledge is built sequentially, with a focus on children remembering more and applying their learning to other areas.   

In history, children learn about people, events and places, both from the recent past and the more distant past. History units are further enhanced through school visits, visiting experts and immersive experiences.  Children work with primary sources of information where possible and learn to communicate their findings in increasingly sophisticated ways.  

For pupils with additional needs, there will be every opportunity to work towards the overall objectives of the year group.  Pupils may be supported with their historical learning through differentiated questioning, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, adapted work or additional time.  All pupils will be able to access the trips and visitors that enrich this subject, and high expectations will challenge all children to meet their personal targets.

Core Curriculum Concepts for History

Our Marshwood curriculum forms the thread that weaves together all we do to live out our vision of nurture, grow, flourishand our values including respect, wisdom, love. Our rolling programme of study has been organised based on the subject programmes of study in the National Curriculum with these being carefully and purposefully mapped out to ensure a vertical progression of historical skills, knowledge and vocabulary from EYFS to Year 6. Built into this are carefully planned horizontal links which connect learning in history with different subject disciplines in meaningful ways. In addition to this, we have identified some core concepts within history which children will revisit throughout their time at Marshwood with increasing complexity: 

History within KS1 and KS2 

The curriculum stays coherent even if the order shifts because the key substantive knowledge is revisited multiple times in progressively richer contexts.