Our History curriculum is ambitious, coherent and carefully sequenced. It is designed to ensure that learners develop secure knowledge of significant people, events, periods and developments in British, local and world history.

Learners build an increasingly secure chronological framework, enabling them to locate new learning within a wider understanding of the past. They revisit important historical concepts so that their understanding becomes broader, deeper and more precise over time.

The curriculum develops both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Learners acquire knowledge about the past while also learning how historians investigate, interpret and communicate historical accounts.

Through the curriculum, learners develop an understanding of:

• chronology and the passage of time;
• cause and consequence;
• change and continuity;
• similarity and difference;
• historical significance;
• evidence and sources; and
• historical interpretations.

The curriculum has been designed to help learners make meaningful connections between periods and themes. It enables them to recognise how societies develop, how power and beliefs influence people’s lives and how communities respond to challenge, conflict, innovation and change.

Our selection of content reflects the requirements of the National Curriculum while also responding to the context of St Luke’s and the community we serve. Learners study British history, world history and local history and encounter a range of people, cultures, experiences and perspectives.

We are committed to ensuring that learners do not receive a narrow or simplified account of the past. Where appropriate, they examine whose experiences have been recorded, whose voices may have been overlooked and how evidence can support or challenge established interpretations.

The curriculum is ambitious for every learner. Teachers support learners to access important historical knowledge and concepts without unnecessarily reducing the intellectual demand of the subject.

By the end of Year 6, learners should possess a secure foundation of historical knowledge, use historical vocabulary with increasing precision, evaluate evidence thoughtfully and construct increasingly well-supported accounts of the past. They should be prepared for the demands of secondary History and remain curious about how the past helps us understand the present.

Our History curriculum develops two closely connected forms of knowledge: substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge.

Substantive Knowledge

Substantive knowledge is knowledge about the past.

It includes knowledge of:

• significant people;
• events and developments;
• historical periods;
• places and civilisations;
• dates and chronology;
• beliefs and cultures;
• political and social structures;
• conflict and cooperation;
• migration and settlement;
• technological and economic change; and
• the experiences of different groups and communities.

Substantive knowledge enables learners to build a secure understanding of what happened, when it happened, where it happened and why it matters.

Learners revisit important themes and ideas across different periods so that they can recognise connections and contrasts. These may include leadership and power, belief, trade, empire, migration, conflict, social change and daily life.

Disciplinary Knowledge

Disciplinary knowledge is knowledge of how historians investigate and construct accounts of the past.

Learners are taught how to:

• ask historically valid questions;
• use chronological language and frameworks;
• examine primary and secondary sources;
• consider the usefulness and limitations of evidence;
• distinguish between evidence and interpretation;
• compare different accounts of the past;
• identify causes and consequences;
• recognise change and continuity;
• evaluate historical significance;
• make comparisons across periods;
• construct reasoned conclusions; and
• communicate historical understanding using evidence.

Learners are not expected merely to collect facts or complete activities. They are taught to think historically by applying their knowledge to questions, sources, interpretations and carefully structured enquiries.

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge are taught together. Learners need secure knowledge of a period before they can evaluate evidence or interpretations meaningfully. Equally, disciplinary thinking helps learners understand that historical knowledge is constructed through the careful examination of evidence.

Our History curriculum is structured around a manageable group of recurring concepts. These concepts are introduced in age-appropriate ways and revisited with increasing depth and complexity.

Chronology

Learners develop an increasingly secure understanding of the order and duration of historical periods and events.

They learn to:

• sequence events and periods;
• use dates and chronological vocabulary;
• recognise overlap between historical developments;
• identify connections across periods; and
• locate new learning within a wider historical framework.

Cause and Consequence

Learners examine why events and developments happened and what resulted from them.

They learn that:

• historical events rarely have a single cause;
• causes may be long-term or immediate;
• consequences may be intended or unintended; and
• historical developments affect people and groups differently.

Change and Continuity

Learners investigate what changed over time and what remained similar.

They consider:

• the pace and extent of change;
• whether change represented progress for everyone;
• patterns across different periods; and
• aspects of life that remained continuous despite wider developments.

Similarity and Difference

Learners compare people, communities, societies and periods.

They explore:

• different experiences within the same society;
• contrasts between historical periods;
• similarities across time and place; and
• how factors such as wealth, gender, status, belief and location shaped people’s lives.

Historical Significance

Learners consider why some people, events and developments are regarded as historically important.

They learn to evaluate significance by considering:

• the scale of an event or development;
• the number of people affected;
• the duration of its impact;
• the extent of change it created; and
• how it has been remembered or interpreted.

Evidence

Learners use a range of historical sources to investigate the past.

They learn to ask:

• What does this source show?
• Who created it?
• Why was it created?
• What can it help us understand?
• What are its limitations?
• What other evidence would be useful?

Learners understand that sources do not simply provide complete or neutral accounts of the past.

Historical Interpretations

Learners explore how and why accounts of the past may differ.

They learn that interpretations may be influenced by:

• the evidence available;
• the questions being asked;
• the perspective of the historian or creator;
• the time in which the account was produced; and
• the purpose and intended audience.

Learners are encouraged to compare interpretations thoughtfully and support their conclusions with evidence.

Our History curriculum is implemented through carefully planned units of learning that build learners’ knowledge, vocabulary and historical thinking over time.

St Luke’s uses Kapow Primary as an important resource to support curriculum planning and delivery. Subject leaders and teachers review and adapt the materials so that they reflect the National Curriculum, learners’ prior knowledge, the local context and the wider aims of the school’s curriculum.

History is taught as a distinct subject. Meaningful links are made with English, geography, religious education, art and other areas of learning where these connections deepen historical understanding. These links do not replace the specific knowledge, concepts and methods of History.

Teachers introduce new learning in a clear sequence. They identify what learners already know, revisit important prior knowledge and make explicit connections between earlier and current learning. New content is broken into manageable steps so that learners can build a secure understanding of people, events, periods and developments.

Historical enquiry is central to teaching. Learners encounter carefully framed questions that require them to:

• recall and organise relevant knowledge;
• examine historical evidence;
• compare accounts and interpretations;
• identify causes and consequences;
• recognise change and continuity;
• make comparisons across time and place;
• evaluate significance; and
• reach reasoned conclusions.

Teachers use clear explanations, modelling, questioning, discussion and guided practice to support learners in developing historical understanding. They demonstrate how historians approach sources, construct arguments and use evidence to support their conclusions.

A range of appropriate historical materials is used, including:

• written sources;
• photographs and illustrations;
• maps;
• timelines;
• artefacts;
• oral histories;
• historical accounts;
• digital resources; and
• interpretations created at different times.

Learners are given regular opportunities to discuss, write, present and apply their knowledge. Tasks are selected because they deepen historical understanding rather than simply provide an activity linked to a topic.

Retrieval, questioning and low-stakes assessment help learners revisit important knowledge, strengthen recall and identify gaps or misconceptions. Teachers respond to this information by adapting explanations, revisiting content or providing further practice.

History teaching is supported through curriculum guidance, shared planning, professional development and subject leadership. The History leader works with teachers to strengthen subject knowledge, improve consistency and ensure that the intended curriculum is taught effectively.

Our History curriculum is sequenced so that learners build increasingly secure and connected knowledge from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 6.

Progression is not understood simply as moving from one historical topic to another. It involves the planned development of:

• chronological knowledge;
• substantive knowledge of people, periods and events;
• understanding of recurring historical concepts;
• disciplinary knowledge;
• historical vocabulary;
• the ability to use evidence;
• the quality of historical explanations; and
• increasing independence.

New units build on knowledge and concepts introduced previously. Teachers make these connections explicit so that learners can locate new content within a broader chronological and conceptual framework.

Early Years Foundation Stage

In Nursery and Reception, children begin to develop an awareness of the past through stories, conversations, photographs, objects and personal experiences. They explore changes within living memory, sequence familiar events and compare aspects of the past and present.

Key Stage 1

In Key Stage 1, learners develop foundational chronological knowledge. They explore significant people and events, changes within living memory and aspects of local and national history.

They begin to:

• use common words and phrases relating to time;
• sequence events;
• identify similarities and differences;
• ask and answer questions about the past;
• use simple sources;
• recognise that accounts of the past may differ; and
• explain some causes and consequences.

Lower Key Stage 2

In Lower Key Stage 2, learners develop a broader chronological framework and encounter periods beyond living memory in greater depth.

They begin to:

• place periods within a wider chronological sequence;
• identify connections between societies and developments;
• explain causes and consequences in more detail;
• examine change and continuity;
• compare sources;
• distinguish between evidence and interpretation; and
• construct increasingly organised historical accounts.

Upper Key Stage 2

In Upper Key Stage 2, learners deepen their understanding of historical complexity.

They are expected to:

• make connections across periods;
• recognise that events may have multiple causes and consequences;
• evaluate the significance of people and developments;
• consider the usefulness and limitations of sources;
• compare and evaluate interpretations;
• use evidence to support reasoned conclusions;
• communicate with increasing precision; and
• work with greater independence.

By the end of Year 6, learners should have a coherent chronological framework and sufficient historical knowledge and disciplinary understanding to engage successfully with secondary History.

Historical vocabulary is deliberately selected, introduced, modelled and revisited throughout the curriculum.

Learners need secure vocabulary to understand historical content, participate in discussion, interpret sources and communicate their ideas accurately. Vocabulary development is therefore embedded within curriculum planning rather than treated as an additional activity.

Teachers explicitly teach:

• chronological language;
• vocabulary associated with particular periods;
• terms connected with social, political, religious and economic life;
• words used to describe historical concepts; and
• language needed to evaluate evidence and interpretations.

This includes words and phrases such as:

• past and present;
• before and after;
• decade, century and millennium;
• cause and consequence;
• change and continuity;
• similarity and difference;
• evidence and source;
• primary and secondary source;
• significance;
• interpretation;
• civilisation;
• empire;
• monarchy;
• migration; and
• settlement.

The vocabulary selected becomes increasingly precise and sophisticated as learners move through the school.

Teachers support vocabulary development by:

• explaining words clearly;
• placing vocabulary within historical context;
• modelling accurate use;
• revisiting terms across lessons and units;
• using timelines, images and examples;
• encouraging oral rehearsal;
• providing sentence structures where appropriate;
• checking understanding regularly; and
• expecting learners to use subject-specific language in speech and writing.

Purposeful classroom talk is an important part of History. Learners are given opportunities to:

• ask questions;
• explain their thinking;
• compare viewpoints;
• discuss evidence;
• challenge ideas respectfully;
• rehearse historical explanations;
• justify conclusions; and
• present findings to different audiences.

Over time, learners should communicate historical understanding with increasing confidence, accuracy and independence.

Assessment in History is used to determine what learners know, remember, understand and can apply.

It helps teachers identify whether learners have secured the intended knowledge and whether they can use that knowledge to think historically. Assessment is used to inform teaching, address misconceptions and support curriculum improvement.

Teachers assess learning through a range of evidence, including:

• questioning and discussion;
• responses to retrieval activities;
• observation during lessons;
• learners’ written work;
• source analysis;
• timelines and sequencing activities;
• presentations and debates;
• quizzes and end-of-unit tasks;
• practical or creative outcomes where these demonstrate historical understanding; and
• discussions with individual learners.

Assessment focuses on both substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

Teachers consider whether learners can:

• recall important people, events, dates and developments;
• place learning within an appropriate chronological framework;
• use historical vocabulary accurately;
• explain causes and consequences;
• identify change and continuity;
• compare periods and experiences;
• use evidence appropriately;
• recognise and compare interpretations;
• construct reasoned conclusions; and
• apply their learning with increasing independence.

Teachers check understanding throughout lessons rather than waiting until the end of a unit. Misconceptions are identified and addressed promptly through further explanation, modelling, discussion or practice.

Assessment is proportionate and purposeful. It is not based solely on the quantity of written work or the presentation of a book. What learners can explain, demonstrate and apply is considered alongside their recorded outcomes.

Where learners have gaps in prior knowledge, teachers revisit essential content and provide appropriate support. Adaptations are made without unnecessarily reducing the ambition or breadth of the curriculum.

Subject leaders use assessment evidence to identify:

• strengths in curriculum implementation;
• areas of inconsistency;
• concepts that require further emphasis;
• groups who may not be participating or achieving as well as expected;
• professional development needs; and
• areas where curriculum sequencing or resources should be refined.

The impact of our History curriculum can be seen in what learners know, remember, understand and can do.

We evaluate whether learners have developed a secure body of historical knowledge and whether they can use that knowledge to ask questions, examine evidence, make connections and construct increasingly well-supported accounts of the past.

Over time, learners should demonstrate:

• an increasingly secure chronological framework;
• knowledge of significant people, events, periods and developments;
• an understanding of local, British and world history;
• the ability to make connections across periods;
• increasingly precise use of historical vocabulary;
• a secure understanding of cause and consequence;
• an ability to recognise change and continuity;
• increasingly thoughtful comparisons;
• an understanding of historical significance;
• the ability to examine and evaluate sources;
• recognition that the past may be interpreted in different ways;
• increasingly reasoned and evidence-informed conclusions;
• improved confidence in discussion and written communication; and
• greater independence when approaching historical enquiries.

Impact is evaluated through a range of evidence, including:

• discussions with learners;
• work in books and portfolios;
• lesson visits;
• assessment activities;
• retrieval of prior learning;
• source-based enquiries;
• presentations and debates;
• curriculum reviews;
• subject leadership monitoring;
• participation in visits and enrichment; and
• learners’ readiness for the next stage.

No single source of evidence is used in isolation.

Leaders consider whether the intended curriculum has been taught effectively, whether learners have learned it securely and whether all groups have benefited from it. Particular attention is given to the experiences and outcomes of learners with SEND, disadvantaged learners, learners with English as an additional language and those who may have gaps in learning.

Where evaluation identifies weaknesses or inconsistency, leaders refine curriculum planning, provide further professional development and review the impact of subsequent action.

By the end of Year 6, learners should be curious, knowledgeable and increasingly critical students of History. They should be able to draw on secure knowledge, evaluate evidence thoughtfully and communicate reasoned historical conclusions. They should be well prepared for secondary education and understand how the study of the past helps them interpret the present.

Our History curriculum is ambitious for every learner. All learners are entitled to study the same important historical concepts, periods and questions, while receiving the support they need to participate meaningfully and achieve well.

Teachers identify potential barriers to learning and adapt teaching without unnecessarily reducing the intellectual challenge of the subject. Adaptations are selected in response to individual need and the demands of the historical content being taught.

These may include:

• explicit teaching and pre-teaching of vocabulary;
• clear explanations supported by images, artefacts, maps and timelines;
• chunking complex information into manageable steps;
• revisiting important contextual knowledge;
• using accessible historical texts and sources;
• modelling how to analyse evidence;
• providing guided questions and structured prompts;
• oral rehearsal before written responses;
• sentence starters and writing frames where appropriate;
• alternative ways for learners to record or communicate understanding;
• additional opportunities for practice and retrieval;
• adapted resources or equipment; and
• carefully planned adult support.

Timelines and visual representations are used to help learners understand chronology and make connections between periods. Teachers make abstract concepts more accessible through concrete examples, stories, images and comparisons.

For learners with English as an additional language, teachers support understanding through explicit vocabulary instruction, visual resources, purposeful talk and opportunities to rehearse ideas before communicating them independently.

Learners who have gaps in prior knowledge receive timely support so that they can access current learning. Additional teaching is designed to reconnect learners with the curriculum rather than replace it with unrelated or less ambitious work.

Learners who demonstrate secure understanding are encouraged to deepen their thinking by evaluating more complex sources, comparing interpretations, considering historical debate and constructing increasingly sophisticated conclusions.

Teachers and leaders review participation as well as written outcomes. They consider whether learners contribute to discussion, engage with evidence, participate in visits and enrichment, and develop confidence as historians.

In Nursery and Reception, children begin to develop the foundations of historical understanding through the area of learning: Understanding the World.

Children explore the past through their own experiences, family stories, photographs, objects, books, celebrations and changes in the world around them. They learn that events happened before they were born and begin to recognise differences between the past and the present.

Through carefully planned provision and adult interaction, children are encouraged to:

• talk about their own lives and families;
• sequence familiar events and routines;
• recognise change over time;
• compare objects, photographs and experiences from the past and present;
• listen to and retell stories about significant people and events;
• explore artefacts and ask questions about them;
• notice how homes, transport, clothing, toys and communities have changed;
• use early chronological vocabulary; and
• develop curiosity about people and experiences beyond their immediate lives.

Children begin to use words and phrases such as:

• before;
• after;
• yesterday;
• today;
• tomorrow;
• past;
• present;
• old;
• new;
• then; and
• now.

Stories, role play, local walks, family contributions and carefully selected resources help children build a sense of time and change.

Adults model questioning and encourage children to explain what they notice. Children are supported to compare, describe, sequence and make simple connections.

These early experiences prepare children for Key Stage 1 by developing their language, observation, memory, curiosity and understanding that the past can be explored through stories, objects, images and evidence.

Our History curriculum enables learners to encounter a broad range of people, communities, cultures and experiences from Britain and the wider world.

We aim to present the past with accuracy, respect and appropriate complexity. Learners are supported to understand that historical societies were diverse and that people’s experiences were shaped by factors such as culture, faith, gender, social position, wealth, migration, power and geographical location.

Curriculum content is reviewed to ensure that learners encounter:

• significant individuals from a range of backgrounds;
• the experiences of women, men and children;
• the histories of different communities;
• local, British and world history;
• migration and the movement of people;
• the development and consequences of empire;
• different faiths, beliefs and cultural traditions;
• voices that have sometimes been overlooked or excluded; and
• contrasting perspectives and interpretations.

Representation is not treated as an isolated theme or a token addition to the curriculum. It is considered when selecting historical enquiries, texts, sources, images, artefacts and interpretations.

Learners are taught to ask whose experiences are represented, whose voices may be absent and why some accounts of the past have received greater attention than others.

They also learn that historical figures and societies should be understood within their particular contexts. Teachers avoid presenting the past through overly simple judgements or stereotypes and support learners to recognise complexity, contradiction and change.

Historical sources and interpretations are selected carefully so that learners can examine differing experiences while also considering reliability, purpose and perspective.

Through this approach, learners develop a more informed understanding of Britain, the wider world and the diverse communities of which they are part.

Local history is an important part of our curriculum because it helps learners understand the history that exists around them.

St Luke’s is situated within Lambeth and London, areas shaped by significant social, cultural, religious, political and economic change. Learners are given opportunities to explore how the local area has developed and how wider national and global events have affected local people and communities.

Local history may include the study of:

• changes to the local area over time;
• significant local buildings and landmarks;
• the experiences of people who have lived and worked locally;
• migration and the development of local communities;
• transport, housing and industry;
• local faith and community organisations;
• London during significant historical events; and
• links between local history and wider British or world history.

The specific local studies undertaken reflect the school’s curriculum plans and are reviewed to ensure that they provide meaningful historical depth.

Enrichment is used to strengthen curriculum learning rather than operate as an isolated experience.

Opportunities may include:

• visits to museums, galleries and historic sites;
• local walks and fieldwork;
• workshops led by historians or museum educators;
• visiting speakers;
• handling artefacts;
• digital archives and virtual visits;
• historical performances and re-enactments;
• exhibitions of learners’ work;
• themed events;
• oral history projects; and
• partnerships with local organisations.

Before an enrichment activity, learners are prepared with the knowledge and vocabulary needed to participate successfully. Afterwards, teachers provide opportunities for learners to reflect, make connections and apply what they have learned.

Leaders consider whether all groups of learners are able to participate in educational visits and wider opportunities. Where barriers exist, appropriate steps are taken to promote equitable access.

History contributes strongly to learners’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Through the study of people, communities and societies, learners encounter questions about leadership, justice, belief, power, responsibility, conflict, cooperation and change.

They are encouraged to consider:

• why people made particular choices;
• how decisions affected individuals and communities;
• how beliefs shaped societies;
• how people responded to injustice or adversity;
• how rights and responsibilities developed;
• why different groups may have experienced the same events differently; and
• how the past continues to influence the present.

History helps learners understand that human experiences are complex. It creates opportunities for thoughtful discussion, respectful disagreement and evidence-informed debate.

The subject also contributes to learners’ understanding of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. These ideas are explored through historical context rather than presented as disconnected definitions.

Our school values are developed meaningfully through History.

Kindness

Learners develop empathy by examining the experiences of people from different times and places. They are encouraged to consider the human impact of historical events while avoiding assumptions that people in the past thought or lived exactly as people do today.

Respect

Learners engage respectfully with different cultures, beliefs, experiences and interpretations. They listen to others, challenge ideas appropriately and recognise the importance of evidence.

Confidence

Learners develop confidence by asking questions, contributing to discussion, analysing sources, presenting findings and defending conclusions with evidence.

Excellence

Learners pursue excellence by using vocabulary precisely, applying knowledge carefully, evaluating evidence thoughtfully and producing well-reasoned historical accounts.

Through History, learners are encouraged to become informed, reflective and responsible members of their communities.

The subject supports our vision to Believe, Achieve and Thrive by helping learners believe that their questions and perspectives matter, achieve through disciplined enquiry and thrive as knowledgeable citizens who understand the relationship between past and present.

Families can support History learning by encouraging curiosity, conversation and thoughtful questioning about the past.

The most valuable support does not require families to teach new curriculum content. Instead, parents and carers can help learners connect school learning with everyday experiences and develop an interest in people, places and events from the past.

Families can support learning by:

• talking about family and community history;
• sharing appropriate photographs, objects and stories;
• visiting museums, galleries, libraries and historic places;
• noticing historical buildings, monuments and street names;
• discussing documentaries, books and age-appropriate programmes;
• encouraging learners to explain what they have studied;
• practising key vocabulary;
• helping learners place events on timelines;
• comparing life in the past with life today; and
• encouraging learners to ask questions and seek evidence.

When discussing the past, families can use questions such as:

• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• What changed?
• What stayed the same?
• Why might this have happened?
• How do we know?
• Whose viewpoint is represented?
• Could there be another interpretation?
• Why is this person or event significant?

Reading is an important way to strengthen historical knowledge. Families are encouraged to share biographies, historical fiction, information books and texts connected with topics being studied.

Any online resources recommended by the school will be selected carefully to ensure that they are age-appropriate, reliable and consistent with the curriculum.

Families who would like further guidance about supporting History learning should contact the school.

Our History curriculum is planned so that learners develop increasingly secure chronological knowledge, historical understanding and confidence in working with evidence.

The content taught in each year group is informed by the National Curriculum and supported by Kapow Primary resources. Teachers and subject leaders review and adapt units to reflect prior learning, the local context and the needs of learners.

The summaries below should be read alongside the whole-school History curriculum overview and progression documents.

Nursery

Children begin to develop awareness of the past through family stories, routines, photographs, objects, celebrations and changes in their immediate environment.

They begin to use simple chronological language and recognise differences between old and new, then and now.

Reception

Children deepen their understanding of past and present through stories, significant people, familiar events, local experiences and comparisons between life today and life in the past.

They begin to sequence events, describe change and ask questions about photographs, artefacts and accounts.

Year 1

Learners study changes within living memory and significant people or events beyond living memory.

They develop early chronological understanding, ask simple historical questions and begin to use sources to find out about the past.

Year 2

Learners extend their knowledge of significant people, events and local history.

They compare aspects of life across time, explain simple causes and consequences and recognise that accounts of the past may differ.

Year 3

Learners begin to study longer periods of British and world history.

They develop a wider chronological framework, investigate change over time and use evidence to answer increasingly focused historical questions.

Year 4

Learners deepen their understanding of historical periods and civilisations.

They make connections between developments, compare societies and begin to distinguish more clearly between evidence and interpretation.

Year 5

Learners examine increasingly complex historical developments and relationships.

They consider multiple causes and consequences, evaluate significance and use a wider range of sources to construct organised historical explanations.

Year 6

Learners draw together knowledge from across the curriculum.

They make connections between periods, evaluate sources and interpretations, construct reasoned conclusions and communicate historical understanding with increasing precision and independence.

The exact units studied in each year group should be listed or linked below.

Year-Group Curriculum Links

• Nursery History and Understanding the World overview
• Reception History and Understanding the World overview
• Year 1 History overview
• Year 2 History overview
• Year 3 History overview
• Year 4 History overview
• Year 5 History overview
• Year 6 History overview

The following documents provide further information about the History curriculum at St Luke’s.

Core History Documents

• Whole School History Curriculum Overview
• History Progress of Knowledge and skills
• History Substantive Knowledge Progression
• History Disciplinary Knowledge Progression
• History Key Concepts Progression
• History Vocabulary Progression
• History Curriculum by Year Group
• History Enrichment and Local History Overview
• History Policy

The History subject leader works with teachers, senior leaders and governors to support the quality, consistency and development of History across the school.

The subject leader ensures that the intended curriculum is ambitious, coherent, inclusive and accurately represented in published information.

Subject leadership includes:

• reviewing curriculum plans and progression documents;
• checking alignment with the National Curriculum;
• ensuring that links from EYFS to Year 6 are clear;
• supporting teachers’ historical subject knowledge;
• reviewing the use and adaptation of Kapow Primary resources;
• identifying appropriate professional development;
• evaluating learners’ work;
• speaking with learners about their knowledge and experiences;
• visiting lessons;
• reviewing assessment information;
• checking the development of vocabulary;
• evaluating inclusion and participation;
• monitoring enrichment and local-history opportunities;
• identifying strengths and inconsistencies;
• reviewing the impact of improvement actions; and
• refining curriculum content and resources where necessary.

The subject leader considers whether learners are building secure knowledge over time and whether they can apply this knowledge through historical enquiry.

Particular attention is given to whether:

• important content is being taught consistently;
• learners remember prior learning;
• chronological knowledge develops securely;
• substantive and disciplinary knowledge are appropriately balanced;
• teachers identify and address misconceptions;
• learners with SEND access an ambitious curriculum;
• disadvantaged learners participate fully;
• assessment is purposeful;
• enrichment strengthens curriculum learning; and
• learners are prepared for the next stage.

The History leader reports relevant findings to senior leaders and governors. Evaluation informs curriculum refinement, professional development, resource decisions and school improvement planning.

The published History page and linked documents are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain current and reflect actual practice.

Further information about the History curriculum is available from the school.

Parents and carers can request:

• more detailed information about the content taught in a particular year group;
• copies of curriculum overviews;
• information about progression;
• guidance on supporting History learning at home;
• accessible versions of published curriculum documents; and
• clarification about visits, enrichment or curriculum resources.

Please contact the school office through the contact details provided on the school website.

Paper copies of curriculum information can be provided on request.

The school welcomes constructive feedback about the accessibility and usefulness of its curriculum information. Published content is reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains accurate, clear and consistent with the curriculum learners receive.