History


HISTORY

 History will be taught in accordance with the guidelines of the school and will follow the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 noting the key skills identified at national level, with reference to the school’s Policy for Learning and Teaching.

The main aims of teaching History in Dereham St. Nicholas Junior School

The two main aims of teaching History within the school are to develop children’s sense of identity through learning about the development of Britain and the wider world, and introduce children to what is involved in understanding and interpreting the past.  Through learning about the past and the methods used to study it, children will begin to make sense of the world in which they live.

Mode of delivery and planning

The statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for History will form the basis for planning work throughout the school.  Children will be taught about important episodes and developments inBritain’s past, about Ancient civilisations and the history of other parts of the world.

The order of content has been agreed across the key stage and QCA Examplar schemes will be available to support planning where appropriate.

The children will be encouraged to make references to events and developments in previous units to help them develop a chronological framework.

They will be given opportunities to study different interpretations of history in order to develop their awareness that the past is represented in different ways.

Experiences will be given across the Key Stage to develop historical enquiry and to use a range of sources.

They will organise and communicate their findings in a variety of ways and be given opportunities to increase their range and depth of historical knowledge and understanding.

Much of the History studied in school will focus on social, economical and cultural history, but opportunities to study history from alternative perspectives will be planned over the Key Stage.

Records of all topic and lesson plans will be kept in accordance with the school’s Record Keeping Policy.

This planning will also reflect the right of all children to equality of opportunity in History and the school’s SEN Policy ensuring access to the curriculum for all pupils through VAK elements in each topic.

Planning Links with other subjects

Whilst the distinct nature of History is recognized, links with English are considered vital.  Links with other curriculum areas and spiritual, moral social and cultural dimensions are also planned for in each study unit.  It is intended that the historical themes are used to enrich the wider curriculum in general.

Time

Over the key stage, History will be taught in blocked study units.  The time spent studying History equates to a minimum of 30 hours per year.

Assessment

The reporting package will be used to judge which description best fits the pupil’s performance and this will in turn provide National Curriculum levels. Opportunities will be planned for assessment and evaluation of children’s learning and will be in accordance with the school’s Policy for Assessment

Resources

A wide range of resources will be made available for the study of History.  Resources relevant to the individual study units such as books, artifacts and documents are located in the appropriate year groups.  Larger items such as maps and videos are stored in the Resources room.  Children will also have access to I.C.T. through the computer suite, laptops and interactive whiteboards in order to support and extend their learning in History.

An integral part of the historical studies made in each year are visits to local historical sites and visitors to the school.  The use of buildings and sites have been planned to ensure that the fieldwork becomes progressively challenging.  In participating in such field work and educational visits the school recognises the health and safety implications and these are conducted in accordance with the guidelines given in the school’s Health & Safety and Educational Visits policies.

The resources will be reviewed and monitored by the Subject Leader for History in consultation with Year Leaders to ensure they are appropriate for the task set

Review of policy

This policy has been drawn up under the co-ordination of Mr. T. Ecclestone in consultation with teaching staff.  The policy was agreed by staff on 2nd November 2009

The policy should be monitored as an ongoing process and an evaluation into the effectiveness of the policy should be undertaken on a bi-annual basis.

It is anticipated that this policy will be reviewed no later than July, 2012.

 

 

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