As St Nic’s Historians we wonder, we investigate and we compare
At St Nicholas C of E Primary School, we believe that history helps children make sense of the world around them by understanding how people, events and societies have shaped the communities we live in today. Through our rich, inclusive and progressive history curriculum, pupils develop a secure understanding of chronology, historical knowledge, vocabulary and key concepts. We encourage children to be curious about the past and to see themselves as historians who ask questions, seek answers and make meaningful connections across time.
Our history curriculum supports our vision to Aim High, Be Courageous and Show Love. Children are encouraged to aim high by developing a deep understanding of the past and building their historical knowledge over time. They are courageous when they investigate evidence, consider different perspectives and challenge their own thinking. Through learning about diverse people, communities and civilisations, they develop empathy, respect and a greater understanding of others, helping them to show love in their relationships and actions.
Pupils learn to think and work as historians by asking thoughtful questions, interpreting evidence, comparing sources and communicating their understanding of the past. Through the study of local, national and global history, children develop an appreciation of how societies have changed over time and how significant events continue to influence the world today.
Historical connections and contextual studies are used purposefully throughout our curriculum where they deepen understanding, provide access to authentic evidence or allow meaningful comparisons to be made. These connections may be local, national or global, helping children to understand both their own heritage and their place within a wider historical narrative.
At St Nicholas, we want every child to leave primary school with a strong understanding of the past, an ability to think critically about historical evidence and a curiosity that inspires lifelong learning. As St Nic's Historians, we wonder, we investigate and we compare.
The National Curriculum for History aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
- Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
- Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry'.
- Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
- Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
- Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
