Our history curriculum aims to help pupils gain knowledge and a coherent understanding of both the UK’s past and of key historical periods from the wider world. Through carefully sequenced progression of learning, pupils’ historical knowledge is continually developed and reinforced throughout their study in school. In line with the (2014) National Curriculum, our curriculum at Nether Edge is designed to:

• Teach pupils about the key people, dates, events and turning points of different periods within UK history (from the Stone Age to the end of WWII) as well as of the civilizations of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and Early Islamic civilization in Baghdad. 
• Equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, develop perspective and judgement by analysing primary and secondary sources.
• Help pupils understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change over time, the legacies of historical eras, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as how their own identify has been shaped by events of the past.

History is taught in two of the four cycles across the academic year. The content and knowledge taught is mapped out to show progression between each cycle and then each year group as pupils move through the school. The key learning is identified for each cycle, developed into a coherent sequence of questions that focus each lesson which pupils should be able to understand and answer confidently by the end of the cycle. Historical knowledge is imparted to pupils through the reading of texts, analysis of sources, creative tasks and collaborative work. In cycles 1 and 3, reading anthologies have been carefully constructed so that pupils learn key knowledge and vocabulary in guided reading that can then be applied in history lessons. Pupils’ understanding of chronology is developed through the use of timelines, continual references to key dates and events in historical periods as well as comparisons between different periods and the modern world. Pupils’ analytical skills are developed progressively over their time at Nether Edge so they are ultimately able to methodically analyse a range of sources independently by the end of Year 6. Our ‘Remember More’ retrieval strategy is used at the beginning of each lesson to revisit historical knowledge, key concepts and vocabulary from previous lessons to consolidate pupils’ learning. By the end of pupils’ time at our school, they will be able to:

• Clearly articulate their knowledge, both orally and in writing, of the various historical periods they have studied.
• Understand chronology by sequencing significant historical events, identify when key people in history lived and explain their significance.
• Be able to critically and methodically analyse different sources to identify what they are showing or explaining, how important they are in aiding our understanding of history.