History

'A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture, is like a tree without roots' Marcus Garvey

Mrs Charlesworth is our History Subject Lead. Our History Curriculum Plan 2023 24 can be found at the bottom of the page.

Intent

At Wrenbury, we feel that a sense of self and a self of belonging is vital for our children and a significant part of this is our past, who we are and where we came from. Our themes are underpinned by our golden thread of 'What does this mean to me, why does it matter?' This thread supports our children to understand our history and relate it to their own lives, which in turn deepens understanding. At the same time, this gives our children a better understanding not only of themselves but of others as they learn about the history of a range of people and cultures.

We want our children to be excited and curious about history, to make links though their learning and recognise the ways in which we can learn from our past. When planning our history units, teachers think carefully about providing the children with 'Powerful Knowledge'; knowledge which will open things up for our children, knowledge that is ambitious and empowering. We want our children to be able to know more and remember more which, by the end of Key Stage Two, allows them to have sophisticated debates and discussions about history.

Implementation

When in our history lessons, our children ask themselves; 'What does it mean to be a historian?' as in our lessons, this is what they become. Our history teaching is led by an enquiry question, with the aim of sparking curiosity. Prior learning is revisited as the children consider what previous learning may help them to make connections and support them with their enquiries.

To be able to answer their enquiry question, the children are given a range of carefully considered quality resources. Teachers will never lessen a resource, our children are given the real thing (with the support of quality sources such as The British Museum, The History Association and our local area), and are taught to understand these and take learning from them. Our children are supported to ask questions, create ideas and make connections about the resources they are presented with which in turn helps them to answer their enquiry question. At the end of a unit the children will consider a discussion point which will allow them to collate all their learning, show their depth of understanding and debate different opinions with their peers. The children learn that there may be more than one point of view and that not all sources are what they seem.

Impact

Our children leave Wrenbury with a wealth of historical knowledge, they can recall prior knowledge and talk about time periods and key people with real enthusiasm. Our children can take part in respectful debates about history, using evidence to support their ideas whilst also taking on board the views of others.