For our history curriculum, we have considered the experiences of our school intake and felt that they needed to be able to link historical experiences to those of their own. We felt the curriculum should ask questions of the children and provide them with the opportunity to answer these questions effectively, through research, immersing them in real life experiences, and using their previous knowledge of other historical eras to support their ideas.

Due to our school structure of mixed-age classes, we follow a 2-year rotational curriculum. Throughout the 2 years, each class will be researching three different questions annually, based around the topics covered. Introduction to new topics involve engagement days, which incorporate activities that immerse the children into the topic and the relevant historical question. By providing a question for the children to consider, it offers a basis for the children to develop their communication skills, via debates, presentations and written accounts, using various resources for comparison.

We have designed our history curriculum to introduce pupils to diverse areas of history, from different cultures, countries and eras. Children will be able to recognise and discuss similarities and differences, and gain a chronological awareness of how history develops, throughout their time in the school. We have considered how it offers a range of ancient, through to recent, historical achievements that the children can relate to, using modern knowledge and experiences. The achievements provide opportunities for the children to observe the ambition and resilience of many historical figures, to provide them with a stimulus to drive their own thoughts on the contributions they can make themselves in the future.

Diversity is a key element of our history curriculum, with the importance of male and female representatives, different races and cultures, and people from minority areas of life, being a prominent factor. As a Church of England school, we felt the children should learn how religion had an impact on different areas of history and how this incorporates people trying to flee religious oppression. This further discusses the need for religious freedom and the lengths people went to, to achieve this.

We want all our learners to leave Wilby CE VA Primary School with a curiosity and passion to research important events, people and places and to ensure that they question information gained for validity and importance. These skills will provide the children with a secure grounding to develop their knowledge and interests further in history in Secondary school and beyond.