Curriculum Intent

It is our intention to develop children’s curiosity for History and a fascination

for the past that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

St Thomas’s History scheme offers a coherently planned sequence of lessons to ensure students have progressively covered the skills and concepts required in the National Curriculum.

It aims to develop children’s understanding of substantive concepts, which are revisited throughout different units.  Historical enquiry skills are built upon progressively throughout the units and include: Historical Interpretations; Historical Investigations; Chronological Understanding; Knowledge and Understanding of Events and People in the Past; Presenting, Organising and Communicating; and Substantive Concepts and Historical Vocabulary.

Key Stage 1 overview

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.
• use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms.
• ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.

understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

Key Stage 2 overview

Pupils will continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They will:

• note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
• regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.
• construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.