Through the study of history, we aim to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of the past
in Britain and the wider world. History enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity at a local, national and global level. We aim to develop a coherent chronological awareness that will enable children to make sense of the new knowledge they acquire as they progress through the curriculum. Our intent is to ignite children’s curiosity about the past, encouraging them to make thoughtful observations draw comparisons and derive contrasts between people, events and practices within and across time-periods. This will also allow them to understand the process of change, and how and why the world exists as it is today.

As the children develop, it is important that historical knowledge is not simply presented as a series of facts, but is gained through research, evaluating sources and utilising critical thinking skills to come to their own conclusions. By encouraging the development of these key historical enquiry skills, together with a sound grasp of historical vocabulary and the ability to construct coherent arguments supporting their point of view, we hope that children can develop important transferable skills to support them in the next stage of their learning.