Our History lead is Miss Salter.

At St Margaret’s CE Junior School, we are passionate about the teaching of history. History is all about encouraging children to learn about the past.  We understand that teaching history gives children opportunities to be inspired and to spark curiosity about the past. We want to enthuse pupils to become detectives and to explore the past in an exciting way. Our vision is to help children gain a coherent knowledge about the past in Britain and in the wider world.

Through our progressive history curriculum, we introduce concepts that are revisited as children travel on their journey from Year 3 to Year 6. Our curriculum is sequenced and revisited so that the children know more, remember more and apply their knowledge. All of our children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is fair. We believe reading is the key to learning so a wide range of texts are related to our curriculum. All of our children investigate, compare, question and evaluate key people with living and beyond living memory and how these have influenced our lives today. Key vocabulary is implemented into all aspects of our curriculum. Knowledge organisers support children to know, learn and remember specific learning intentions, key knowledge and vocabulary.

To enrich and inspire our children’s learning, we immerse ourselves in a day dedicated to a person who will inspire us to have aspirations for our future. The person may be linked to our current history topic or we research someone who has made a positive impact on our lives. We support the children to question and evaluate that person and to learn the positive impact that they have had on society. Such examples have been Gandhi, Queen Victoria, Emily Pankhurst, David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Barack Obama. We hope children can learn and be inspired by these people who have shown hope, love, service and courage and how the children can use these values to inspire their own lives.

A variety of teaching and learning styles are used to teach history. Whole class teaching methods are combined with enquiry-based lessons. We encourage independent and collaborative learning and class discussions. Children have access to handle artefacts, visitors will talk about their experiences from their past, theatre groups will visit our school and we can have educational visits to museums or places which build upon children’s learning. We want to offer first hand learning so children can love their learning and make memories.

Teachers assess children’s history learning and progress constantly by using effective questioning and feedback, quizzing, practice and retrieval. Proof of progress or pop tasks show what children have learnt in their learning. An example of a pop task is at the end of the World War Two unit in Year Six, children are asked to role-play or interview a person from the war.

History at St Margaret’s is aimed so that our children will flourish, love to learn, make memories and shine as they start their journey from Year 3 to Year 6.  We want to nurture and develop compassionate and respectful people who will be able to make positive contributions to their community around them.