"The Westgate School is a happy and vibrant community,
where pupils are encouraged to aim for excellence"
(Ofsted, September 2022)
History
“Re-constructing the lives and stories of the past to understand the present”
Our History Curriculum intends to:
Inspire pupils to become curious about the past and equip them to ask perceptive questions, think critically, evaluate arguments and develop perspective and judgement.
Enable pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.
Help pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change and the diversity of societies, as well as exploring their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Why learn History?
History helps us to understand humanity. By studying our shared human past, we can unlock the secrets of our very identities. Who you are within your individual and family history. Who you are in your city's history. Who you are within your nation's history. And who you are within humanity's history.
As humans we are constantly looking back to see where we come from, and history gives us the tools to do that at the highest level. To understand why the world is as it is. To understand the issues we may face going forward. To understand what it means to be human. All by exploring what our ancestors have done in the past.
Planned around half-termly topics, the curriculum provides pupils with the opportunity to learn subject-specific knowledge and understanding, explore links across subject areas and practise their writing. Each topic begins with an enrichment activity such as an educational visit or special event that captures the children’s interest and imagination and builds towards a showcase event such as an exhibition or assembly where children’s learning can be shared and celebrated.
Key stage 1 course content
Pupils will develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They will know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They will use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They will be taught to ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They will understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.
In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing pupils to historical periods that we will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3.
Pupils will be taught about:
Changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life.
events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries].
the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods (e.g. Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell).
significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.