Blackgates

Lead: Bethany Hession

Curriculum Intent

At Blackgates Academy we offer children a high-quality history curriculum giving them a chronological and coherent understanding of Britain’s past and present and that of the wider world.

In KS1 children will begin our studies in the autumn term with an aspect of life in Britain that is in their own locality and they can relate to: history within our local area will include the elements of history that are represented in and around Tingley and how these influences have changed over time, for example the Victorian era. Giving children something they can relate to, gives them a better understanding of the process of change over time. As children move into year 3 they study the influences on the wider area: Yorkshire. During this topic children are encouraged to think critically and use evidence to examine how invaders and settlers have influenced our lives today.

During autumn 2 term – ‘what makes a human super?’ year 2 children will learn about heroic people from the past, their focus will be on Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, two inspirational figures who spent their lives helping others. This will link with real life heroes and people who work in the emergency services as we want all children to have a sound understanding of how to look after themselves and stay safe. Progressing into year 3, children will continue to look at significant individuals, this time focussing on Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks. Studying their lives will help children gain an understanding of their diverse background and even though they faced lots of challenges, they continued to fight for their beliefs showing perseverance and resilience. Year 5 will then study the Ancient Greeks – in particular, the Olympic games. Investigating the history of the Olympics and how it came about, including looking at athletes past and present and their resilience and competitive nature. In year 6 children will learn about power, democracy and the monarchy. Here abstract terms will be understood and links will be made back to the earliest invaders and settlers. They will learn how the earliest rulers controlled both areas and people, how they made decisions, and link this knowledge of the past with how our country is ruled in modern day Britain.

In Spring 1 all children will study one of the seven wonders of the world. This will show the children how diverse our world is and what there is to explore. Year 3 will look at the ancient monuments the pyramids, and study in depth the ancient Egyptian civilisation. Children will study the evidence we have of this time period and how these findings play an integral part in teaching us what we know about these ancient empires. Studying and enquiring about the coliseum, year 4 will begin their learning journey on the Romans. Here they will look at how the Roman Empire invaded Britain and link this to their existing knowledge of invaders and settlers to explain how and why the invasion happened. They will also understand the impact the Roman Empire had on modern day Britain.

During our invention topic in summer 1 children will develop their knowledge of inventions. In year 2 we begin with the earliest inventors from the stone age. Here children will use evidence to describe the tools that were made and the materials used. Justifying their reasons for why certain materials were used through their knowledge of what life was like at the time. Moving into year 3 children will look at famous historic inventions such as the lightbulb and telephone – essential items we use in our lives today. Year 4 will continue to build on this knowledge and focus on the importance of vaccines and medical inventions. Year 5 will be comparing the knowledge learnt in year 3 with modern inventions – looking at how objects have changed over time and justifying these changes compared to the lives people lead now and how much more people and businesses rely on modern technology. In year 6 children will be studying an aspect of history beyond 1066 – throughout this topic children will look at the inventions that changed the course of WW11 such as the Morse code.

In the Summer 2 term learning for all children will be focussed on life outside of Tingley, in particular a seaside town. Year 1 begin this learning journey by looking at holidays; where they go on holiday, the activities they do and if this has changed within living memory. Building on their Victorian knowledge learned in year 2, year 3 children will focus on the history of the seaside holiday, they will examine evidence in order to gain a historical perspective of what a seaside holiday used to be like.

Wherever possible our history curriculum is enhanced by trips and visitors, as these bring the past alive to our children and offer many experiences our children have not had access to.

Across all year groups, we want pupils to study 7 key historical concepts:

Continuity and change
Cause and consequence
Similarities and difference
Significance and impact
Evidence
Chronology and a sense of life in the period
Empathetic understanding

We also want pupils to understand large knowledge based concepts of:

‘Life’ in a particular time period and what life was like at that time
Empire: power and rule, including the struggle for power and resistance against it
Civilisation: what makes a society and how different were they across the world.