Uncovering History
What We Intend To Do
“A historian ought to be exact, sincere and impartial; free from passion, unbiased by interest, fear, resentment or affection; and faithful to the truth, which is the mother of history, the preserver of great actions, the enemy of oblivion, the witness of the past, the director of the future.”
- Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
The purpose of the History at Sherborne Cof E Primary School is to ensure that children from Reception to Year 6 take an interest in the past and can make links between the historical periods that they study.
We value the importance of knowledge and investigation in our teaching of history. Teachers recognise that having an understanding of the past is an essential part of making sense of the world we live in today. The expectation is that all children welcome the opportunity to be curious about our past and should be given opportunities to ask perceptive questions and to analyse evidence thoughtfully.
We aim for all of our children to be capable historians because they:
How We Teach History
At Key Stage 1, children will be taught about events from both living memory and beyond living memory; they will learn about significant individuals, who have contributed either nationally or internationally and will learn about historical events or people that are relevant to their locality.
At Key Stage 2, children will study history in greater depth. They will develop a range of historical skills and vocabulary as they learn about people, civilisations and events throughout time, both locally and across the world. They will be given opportunities to compare, contrast and observe trends over time, by combining overview and in-depth studies.
All classes will make good use of the local environment and take opportunities for studying first-hand the history that is around us; evidence of Neolithic, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Mediaeval existence in the area provides rich chances for the exploration of physical remains.
Additionally, the history curriculum at Sherborne will make good use of museum boxes and local museums themselves to support investigation of the past.
Where possible, when exploring events within living memory, people will be invited into the school to talk to our pupils about their experiences and to share with them artefacts of note.
Where history is more abstract (eg. from the distant past and from countries beyond the UK), online resources will be used with discernment and links to the history of the UK will be made as well as links to the development of individual groups, such as the changes in life for women and children, the history of slavery and the impact of the rise and fall of the British Empire. Children will be taught to think critically and independently about the producers of historical documents and to be aware of historical bias.
How We Know Children Are Learning Well
The successful approach to the teaching of History at Sherborne results in an interesting engaging, high quality history education. It ensures progress, retention of knowledge and provides children with the foundations for understanding the world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education. We provide memorable experiences that encourage children to be curious thinkers and intelligent questioners. Children take pride in historical enquiry and are able to discuss their learning confidently
The impact of teaching and learning history is shown through confident historians asking questions, evaluating evidence, following lines of enquiry, drawing conclusions and thinking critically.
We recognise and assess how successfully the school's aims are met through every day monitoring carried out by class teachers and teaching assistants. This is done through observation, marking and feedback, discussions with the children and information gleaned from online platforms.
The History subject leader will monitor standards through lesson observations, pupil conferences and planning audits.
Three times a year (Autumn Term, Spring Term, Summer Term), teachers make formal judgements of the children's attainment and progress in History. This is submitted to the subject leader for review and discussed with the the Headteacher. During this meeting, any support needed is identified and action plans are amended.