History

At St John’s CE Primary School, our curriculum is designed to inspire lifelong learning and is anchored by our core motto: "The JOY of the Lord is Your Strength" (Jesus, Others, Yourself). We deliver an ambitious, sequentially structured, and inclusive education that celebrates the unique identity of every child. By blending a rigorous academic foundation with deep spiritual, moral, and social development, we nurture the curiosity, resilience, and confidence pupils need to flourish. Rooted in our strong Christian family ethos, our curriculum ensures that learning is accessible to all, fostering an environment where differences are celebrated and every individual is fully equipped to realise their God-given potential.

Intent

The intention of our history curriculum is to deepen the children’s understanding of the world in which we live and to appreciate how the world has changed dramatically over time and continues to do so today.  We want all children to begin to understand the impact of both British and World History upon our lives today by learning about significant events, people and changes from the past within bespoke units of work based on the National Curriculum. 

Implementation

Our history curriculum at St. John’s CE Primary School begins in EYFS where children are introduced to key historical concepts through carefully planned opportunities within the Early Years curriculum.  Throughout the year, children encounter many opportunities to develop their historical knowledge. This includes examining their own family development over time as well as investigating key historical figures and how they have changed our lives today for example, Guy Fawkes. This knowledge is then built upon as the children enter KS1. From Y1-Y6 we then use the National Curriculum as a basis to continue to focus on historically significant periods of time and figures. At the beginning of KS1 there is a focus on the concepts of the past key events, present, change and invention. From Year 2 and beyond there is a clear study of at least one British and one World History unit to study. These are not studied in true chronological order but instead chosen on difficulty of learning. From Y2 onwards the children build on this knowledge to deepen their knowledge of key historical concepts including empire, power and monarchy.

At each stage of study knowledge of events, people and change are carefully considered building on the growing understanding of historical knowledge. Skills to apply knowledge are also considered with their progression across year groups.

Throughout our history curriculum we provide carefully planned enrichment opportunities to aid children’s knowledge and skills. Trips, visits and artefact loan boxes form an integral part of our curriculum and re learn about the lives of important people throughout history in other curriculum subjects and our Worship programme.

Learning history at St. John’s CE Primary School sparks a child's imagination and hopefully fuels a lifelong interest in how the past shapes our world and our futures.

Believe you can and you will…