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Northill CE Academy

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History and Geography

Northill's Approach to the History Curriculum

 

We aim to deliver a history curriculum that is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. Our teaching of history will help pupils gain a secure knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. The curriculum is structured in a way that allows for children to make links between current and previous learning. Teachers use the long term plans for history to make comparisons between historical periods previously taught, developing children’s chronological knowledge and understanding from the Stone Age to present day.

 

We want children to be curious to know more about the past and to have the skills required to explore their own interests. History lessons focus on working as historians and developing historical skills and there are opportunities for the curriculum to be enriched through historical visits, visitors and events held in school.

We aim to enable children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. It is important for children to develop a sense of identity through learning about the past and we want them to know how history has shaped their own lives. This is why the local area is fully utilised to achieve the curriculum outcomes.

 

Teachers use a variety of teaching and learning styles in their history lessons to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding in history.

We use a combination of Hamilton Trust, Plan Bee and school produced planning to create a cohesive and progressive curriculum covering a range of topics.

We believe children learn best when:

  • They have access to, and are able to handle artefacts
  • They go on visits to museums and places of interest
  • They have access to secondary sources such as books and photographs
  • Visitors talk about personal experiences of the past
  • They listen to and interact with stories from the past
  • They undertake fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives
  • They use drama and dance to act out historical events
  • They are shown, or use independently, resources from the internet and videos
  • They are able to use non-fiction books for research
  • They are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions.

 

Young children explore the past through their environment, family history and stories. There are many opportunities for children to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. Children enjoy asking and answering questions and are encouraged to question why things happen and give explanations. Stories are used to sequence events and develop their use of language relating to time.

Northill's Approach to the Geography Curriculum

 

We aim to expand geographical vocabulary, increase our children’s knowledge and curiosity of the wider world and promote high aspirations. We seek to create a life-long love of the subject, through teaching our children about diverse places, people and resources. Through the study of natural and human environments, as well as physical and human processes, our desire is to provide our children with a sense of awe and wonder about the world they live in. As they continue on their journey of Geography, we aim to foster a deep understanding of the subject that develops alongside their geographical skills. Our aim is that our children go on to apply these skills across all subjects.

 

Our curriculum is designed to provide our children with the subject specific language they need to describe, question and discuss the world, as well as their place in it. Our pupils are encouraged to recognise that they have a voice and to use it confidently to debate topics that they feel passionate about, for example, deforestation or renewable energy. We aim to produce well- rounded individuals by providing our children with opportunities to expand their cultural capital and experiences of the world.

 

Our Geography curriculum utilises Hamilton Trust, Plan Bee and school created planning which ensures that National Curriculum objectives are met and that there is clear progression throughout the school. Geography is taught as part of our two-year cycle for each age phase to accommodate our mixed age classes. At times, we take the opportunity to create links between subjects to help solidify the learning taking place. Teachers use questioning, and provide opportunities for discussion and investigation to support the development of vocabulary, which is explicitly taught and modelled by teachers in every lesson. Key geographical knowledge and language (such as, the name and location of continents, countries, capital cities and oceans) is revisited frequently, to make learning memorable, relevant and easy to retrieve. Where appropriate, we support learning with trips to inspire our children and widen their cultural experiences. Teachers are also encouraged to use a range of resources such as videos, photographs and newspaper articles during lessons to help create immersive learning experiences. We aim to teach geography through as much fieldwork as possible, making use of our school grounds and our local area.

 

In EYFS, children are supported to make sense of the world around them through having multiple opportunities to explore their physical world, local community and beyond. These experiences will be a mixture of ‘first hand’ (visits, visitors, exploring the school grounds) and ‘imaginary’ (role play, construction, story), but will fundamentally be practical in nature and involve an enriching vocabulary. Three ELGs ‘Past and Present’, ‘People, Culture and Communities’ and ‘The Natural World’ all have a geographical/historical focus.