Sankey Valley St James CE Primary School

Our History curriculum should inspire our children to develop a curiosity and a desire to learn about the chronology of British history and that of the wider world, recognising significant people, places and events. The children’s skills will grow, through researching and developing opinions and make connections between historical events and people considering the impact that these have on our life today and how this has shaped our society today.

Children are taught to respect and celebrate their own culture and history and that of their peers, recognising the similarities and differences between their lives and those in the past. Contributions and recollections from parents, carers and grandparents regarding their own history add a very personal and human aspect. 

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales

The children’s knowledge and skills are being developed through fun and engaging lessons.  Alongside this they have many opportunities to develop their understanding of the local history of Warrington. Educational visits take place that are linked to the areas being studied e.g. the Imperial War Museum when studying World War Two and Chester when learning about the Romans. We also have visitors who come into school to bring history to life through experience days helping our children learn through reliving the past.

When you are at home you can help your child learn too. You can talk to them about the history of your family. When out and about you could talk about the history of the local area and take them to places of historical interest.