At St George’s School we want to bring the past alive for our children so they can compare and contrast the past to that of modern life. We want them to understand how and why things have changed and use a range of sources to find out about the past.

We follow the EYFS Statutory Framework 2021 and the National Curriculum for history which identifies and groups subject objectives for KS1 and KS2.

The National Curriculum states that its purpose is to ‘help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world,’ and we strive to ensure that all children develop this core knowledge and understanding whilst at St George’s.

History is taught through a thematic approach and gives pupils a chance to explore a wide range of sources from which the past may come alive. This allows links and connections to be made to other areas of the curriculum as children develop their knowledge and understanding.

For more information on the National Curriculum for History please follow the links below.

SMSC

At St. George's, we aim to develop SMSC through History by:

Spiritual

• Fostering the mystery of how and why events in the past happened and their many causes.

• Helping children to realise the incredible significance that some individuals have had in the past and how historical knowledge changes with new evidence and different interpretations of events.
• Allowing pupils to see the similarities between people now and in the past and bringing them alive through primary and secondary sources, artefacts and visits and visitors. 
• Artefacts, for example, can bring us closer to people through touching what they felt, feeling their shoes, clothes etc.

Moral

• Encouraging pupils to comment on moral questions and dilemmas from the past.
• Helping children to empathise with the decisions which ordinary people made at the time, based on their historical situation.
• Developing open mindedness when considering the actions and decisions of people from the past .

Social

• Encouraging pupils to think about what past societies have contributed to our culture today.
• Promoting pupils' own social development through working together and problem solving.
• The study of social issues is a common theme in History lessons.
• Exploring the similarities and contrasts between past and present societies and be made aware of how, in the main, we are very fortunate to live in ‘the modern world’

Cultural

• Developing a better understanding of our multicultural society through studying links between local, British, European and world history.

British Values

At St. George's, we aim to promote British values through History. British values, including those of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs are embedded in the History curriculum. 

Students explore issues such as democracy in their historical context and relate them to the modern day through studying periods such as Ancient Greece. This enables the students to understand how, overtime, changes happen and to evaluate their impact. By looking at the achievements of famous British people (KS1), students develop an awareness of how they have influenced and shaped the country in which we live. This includes an appreciation of their work. Teaching students to respect and value diversity is encouraged in the day to day teaching and learning through showing respect for different viewpoints and ideas as well as in the ability to work effectively together both individually and in groups.

Protected Characteristics

At St. George's, we want to give our children an open, respectful and realistic mindset. Through history we can look at how individuals and groups of people were discriminated against for reasons of gender, race, sex, religious beliefs and compare this to how similar groups of  people are treated now in both the UK and across the globe. We can also use the experiences of the past to learn how to behave in the future.

Useful websites

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/ 

https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/search/history/ 

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/teacher-category/history/  

History Knowledge Organisers 

Knowledge organisers for each class can be found in the class pages.