Intent

“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future”
Theodore Roosevelt (26th President of the United States)

At Godolphin Junior Academy, we believe that History should ignite pupils’ curiosity to ask questions about the past and make links to the modern day world. We aim to bring History alive for our pupils through differentiated and engaging lessons. School visits and workshops underpin History as a valuable way of providing memorable first hand experiences to support pupils’ learning.

Our curriculum covers the skills and knowledge outlined in the National Curriculum through inspiring themes which relate to our Power of Reading texts. Skills are planned progressively, so that pupils, by the end of Year 6, will possess the ability to think critically about History and communicate ideas confidently as knowledgeable historians. Well-planned lessons will further develop their understanding of how to interpret and critically evaluate different types of sources of evidence. Pupils will also consider the lasting legacies of different civilisations on our modern world.

Historical enquiry is central to the Godolphin Junior Academy curriculum. A range of primary and secondary sources are explored in engaging lessons. Pupils are taught to be discerning about sources and also to understand the challenges historians face when using different source material. Pupils are encouraged to link their experiences in Modern Britain with their understanding of the past when studying the impact of historical events, civilisations and famous people.

Pupils will have the opportunity to make clear links to broader themes by exploring key concepts like democracy whilst studying different civilisations and considering how these concepts are represented. Key vocabulary is taught within our schemes of work and lessons provide opportunities for pupils to use and apply their new vocabulary.

Through the use of classroom timelines, we endeavour to build pupils’ understanding of the chronological framework of British and World History, thus enabling them to make sense of new knowledge that they acquire and how it links to prior learning. Pupils will consider continuity and change of time.

Godolphin aims to foster a lifelong love of History which will continue for a lifetime.
 

Implementation

History is taught in blocked units; with 6 lessons in each unit. Pupils’ History work is completed in History books and learning objectives are taken from the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2.

Teachers at The Godolphin Junior Academy enjoy providing pupils with an exciting and immersive History curriculum. Their subject knowledge is constantly developing thanks to whole school access to The Historical Society and Key Stage History websites. 

Knowledge Organisers

 To support pupils' learning, every unit in History has an accompanying knowledge organiser. This document contains key information and knowledge that pupils will learn during the topic. It supports their learning of key facts and concepts. Please find a copy of history knowledge organisers below:

Impact

At Godolphin Junior Academy, we use a variety of strategies to evaluate the knowledge, skills and understanding that our pupils have gained during each history unit:

• Effective feedback and marking 
• Regular assessment through low-stakes quizzes
• Pupil voice feedback
• Subject monitoring, including book scrutiny
• Recognise and celebrate outstanding work on the school website and app
• CPD to ensure that teacher pedagogy and assessment is secure.