History

Through the teaching of History at Oyster Park Primary Academy, we aim to help all pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world and how the passing of time has shaped the world we live in today. We strive to enable children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. The teaching of History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. The children are given the opportunity to think and behave as historians and archaeologists.

Our curriculum inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past.  We encourage children to pose their own historical questions and use a range of evidence to find the answers. As part of our curriculum, we investigate how and why the world has changed as well as what we can learn from the past to make the future a better place. British Values are woven into the history curriculum promoting values such as: Mutual Respect, Tolerance and Individual Liberty. Themed days such as Black History Day, Remembrance and International Women’s day promote these values. Enrichment opportunities such as visitors to school and trips are used within the History curriculum to develop a deeper understanding of the time periods studied and to inspire the children to have a lifelong love of history.

In History, we cultivate a reading culture by exposing children to a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts related to our topics. Reading is also an essential component of the History curriculum and reading skills are further developed by making links to the VIPERS strands of learning within lessons.  In Key Stage 1, this will entail retrieving key information from stories and making inferences about the past. In Key Stage 2, this will include retrieving information from a wider number of primary and secondary sources, using the skills of inference and deduction, summarising the key points within a text as well as explaining why a text was created and how it impacts the reader.

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. In History Oracy is a powerful tool for learning. By teaching our pupils to become more effective speakers and listeners we aim to empower them to have a better understanding of themselves, each other and how the past has influenced the world around them today.

At Oyster Park Primary Academy, we are aware that a child’s knowledge and understanding of history is not directly related to their writing or Mathematic ability. All children are given the opportunity to develop historical skills and knowledge with support appropriate to their SEN learning barriers. Children are encouraged and supported to ask their own questions as well as answer historical questions.