Curriculum Intent

At the Bay, we believe that children should have access to an inspiring, creative, broad and balanced curriculum. We hope to develop children’s skills, enabling them to become collaborative and critical thinkers who challenge themselves to follow lines of enquiry, whilst building resilience. Our curriculum inspires a love of life-long learning to begin and encourage pupils to strive to excel in everything they do.

History at The Bay

At The Bay, we believe that historical knowledge should be built up over a child’s life, and within our curriculum, we offer children the opportunity to explore links between different time periods and civilisations. We strive to inspire curiosity in our children when they are learning about where they have come from and how past events and significant people from the past have helped to shape their future. School trips and historical visitors bring our history units to life and encourage pupils to explore and develop an understanding of each History unit. History also provides fantastic opportunities for pupils to refine and develop the core skills of English and Maths, whilst allowing links to other areas of the curriculum.

Intent

Through our History curriculum, we aim to stimulate pupils’ interest, both in Britain’s past, and that of the wider world, making links and connections to modern life. Our intention is to enable pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement. Our curriculum ensures pupils understand the complexity of people’s lives and the process of change. Pupils see the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. Our curriculum provides pupils with the enquiry skills needed to fulfil their potential when they continue their education into KS3.

Implementation

During history units (which are implemented through our Learning Experience), children will explore civilisations and time periods, through the observation of various sources, be it physical artefacts, primary and secondary resources and through research and discovery. They will also be encouraged to explore the reliability and validity of these sources, and critically analyse the accounts of historical events.

In Year 1, children begin to look at History through the context of their own personal history, whilst introducing them to fundamental historical vocabulary. By Year 6, children at The Bay will be able to; conduct a historical enquiry and ask historical questions; have an understanding of different time periods and where they appear on a timeline; and compare and contrast different historical periods. Throughout the school, children are encouraged to make links between the history they have learned and their own, personal history.

Impact

We endeavour to inspire pupils’ curiosity to want to know more about the past. The impact of our curriculum will be evident in the pupils’ enjoyment and their achievement. We assess our pupils in different ways during our Learning Experience units; teacher assessment, pupil voice and records made in our learning experience assessment overview document.

What pupils say about History at The Bay 

“I loved going to the Roman Villa. We learnt about the weapons they used.”

“My favourite History topic was the Stone Age. Did you know that cavemen used moss for toilet paper?”

“I liked making Aztec masks. They were really bright and fun to make.”

Curriculum Information

Click here for Whole School Key Skills Progression

Click here for EYFS History Knowledge Organiser

Click here for Learning Experience Curriculum Overview