History
At St Helen’s, our history curriculum intends to develop our pupils’ interest and understanding of the past as well as their chronological knowledge. We aim to arouse their curiosity and inspire our pupils to ask questions and develop perspective and judgment about why things happened in the past and the impact of those events. Our history topics help pupils to develop their understanding of the process of change and the diversity of societies.
This is implemented by having a curriculum that builds on the children’s understanding of substantive concepts. Children develop their understand of chronology by using timelines and are encouraged to speak like historians by using subject specific vocabulary. Children are given opportunities to ask perceptive questions, and in key stage 2 children develop their disciplinary knowledge by thinking critically, weighing sources of evidence and evaluating differing opinions. Our children will be given a variety of experiences both in and out of the classroom to create memorable learning opportunities and to further support and develop their understanding. History is taught as part of a termly topic, with teachers planning around the knowledge and skills stated in the national curriculum and our own skills progression document. Teachers plan lessons that will excite the children and develop their love and curiosity of history. During local history topics we provide opportunities for members of the community to engage and inspire our children. Furthermore, children are given opportunities to learn about history outside of their topic, for example learning about The World Wars during Remembrance Day celebrations or learning about black history in October.
The impact of our curriculum will be measured by the amount of knowledge the children retain as they move through the school. Children should retain the substantive knowledge they have studied and take this with them into the next key stage, ready and curious to learn more.
Geography
Our geography curriculum intends to encourage our pupils’ to be fascinated about the world and its people. Our curriculum aims to give the children a sense of their world on a local, national and global scale, understanding the interconnections between people and the environment.
This is implemented through careful planning in each year group and key-stage. Geography is taught as part of a termly topic, with teachers planning around the knowledge and skills stated in the national curriculum and our own skills progression document. However, geographic skills and knowledge are also built into our history, maths and PE curriculums, with awareness of global citizenship begin taught during PSHCE. Covering geography skills and knowledge in this way ensures pupils have the opportunities to recap and embed the information they need to continue their geography learning. Children learn field work through hands-on experiences, getting out and about to explore and investigate physical and human processes in our local environment. Furthermore, environmental issues are promoted at St Helen’s through the eco-changers scheme. This group consists of nominated representatives from years 2 to 6. They meet several times throughout the year to work on projects which raise the profile of sustainability and conservation within our school.
The impact of our curriculum is evident in the geographical skills and knowledge the children take into the next key stage. This is formatively assessed by teachers and monitored through subject leader led pupil interviews and lesson observations.