History

Intent 

History is a foundation subject within the National Curriculum. The aims of teaching History at Acres Hill are consistent with our school philosophy and take account of the breadth and depth of our school aims and everyone achieving their full potential. 

As we believe the teaching of history is essential we aim to ensure the children: 

• know and understand the history our topics 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 and understanding of abstract terms which build over each year. For example: civilization, empire and monarchy are covered and built on across KS1 and KS2 each year.  

• 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. 

Implementation 

Our History Curriculum is overseen by our History Lead. The Lead provides training and support to staff, quality assurance regarding the delivery of the curriculum and is responsible for tracking assessment and feeding back to senior leaders and Governors.  

• History is taught through enquiry led questions. The aim of this is to encourage the children to take responsibility for their learning, build on their team working skills, and think independently.  

• Our curriculum is carefully mapped out so we achieve the National Curriculum objectives and there is a clear progression of skills. We use the Grammarsaurus scheme of learning and adapt it for the needs of our children to ensure skills and progression across school is consistent.  

• Each topic has been explicitly sequenced in order to ensure previously learnt skills are recapped and children are equipped for the new learning.  

• Throughout the year Key Stage Two are given opportunity to explore a range history topics. This allows sufficient time to engage the children and ground the historical skills and abstract terms such as civilisation, monarchy and empire.  

• Key Stage One’s topics are spread over each term to ensure vocabulary, skills and knowledge are revisited frequently.   

• Each year group carries out an annual showcase event for parents where they can celebrate and share their achievements, knowledge and experiences. In addition this aims to help engage and familiarise families with their child’s history topics so the enthusiasm for the subject can be carried on at home. In order to continue the engagement at home children are also asked to complete a homework project based around one of their history topics, knowledge organisers are sent home and class dojo is updated frequently.  

Impact 

Our History Curriculum aims to impact and measure the historical skills and knowledge to ensure our children are ready for Key Stage 3 and beyond.  

• Each topic offers opportunities to immerse the children into a range of historical events in order to promote enthusiasm and enjoyment for the subject. This is achieved by ensuring all topics include multiple experience days throughout the year.  

• Our curriculum aims to not exceed the children’s cognitive load and therefore give all children the opportunity to succeed within the subject.  

• A wide range of sources of information such as: books, stories, eye-witness accounts, pictures, photographs, films, artefacts, maps, historic buildings, visits to museums, galleries and website will be used to support the children’s inquisitive learning.  

• The impact is assessed through our History Teaching and Learning Non-Negotiables,   

Geography

Intent

Geography is a foundation subject within the National Curriculum. The aims of teaching Geography at Acres Hill are consistent with our school philosophy and take account of the breadth and depth of our school aims and everyone achieving their full potential.

As we believe the teaching of Geography is essential we aim to ensure the children:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
• be competent in the geographical skills including: collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes; interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs and communicate geographical information in various ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Implementation

Our Geography Curriculum is overseen by our Geography Lead. The Lead provides training and support to staff, quality assurance regarding the delivery of the curriculum and is responsible for tracking assessment and feeding back to senior leaders and Governors. 

• Geography is taught through enquiry led questions. The aim of this is to encourage the children to take responsibility for their learning, build on their team working skills, and think independently. 
• Our curriculum is carefully mapped out so we achieve the National Curriculum objectives and there is a clear progression of skills. We use the Grammarsaurus scheme of learning and adapt it for the needs of our children to ensure skills and progression across school is consistent. 
• Each topic has been explicitly sequenced in order to ensure previously learnt skills are recapped and children are equipped for the new learning. 
• Throughout the year Key Stage Two are given the opportunity to explore a range of geography topics. This allows sufficient time to engage the children and ground the geographical skills such as: Place, Space, Scale, Physical and Human Processes, Cultural Awareness and Diversity.
• Key Stage One’s topics are spread over each term to ensure vocabulary, skills and knowledge are revisited frequently.

Impact

Our Geography Curriculum aims to impact and measure the historical skills and knowledge to ensure our children are ready for Key Stage 3 and beyond. 

• Each topic offers opportunities to immerse the children into a range of geographical topics in order to promote enthusiasm and enjoyment for the subject. This is achieved by ensuring all topics include practical projects. 
• Our curriculum aims to not exceed the children’s cognitive load and therefore give all children the opportunity to succeed within the subject. 
• A wide range of sources of information such as: books, stories, eye-witness accounts, pictures, photographs, films, artefacts, maps, historic buildings, visits to museums, galleries and websites will be used to support the children’s inquisitive learning. 
• The impact is assessed through our Geography Teaching and Learning Non-Negotiables.