History
Our History Intent
Our school is situated right in the heart of the Pudsey community in a building that is steeped in its own vast history which spans over 100 years. As a result, History is held in high regard at Greenside Primary School and is a celebrated and inspiring feature of our school.
We believe that an effective history curriculum should provide children with a context for their developing sense of self: understanding what has come before, in turn, helps children to understand the current world around them and subsequently develop a better understanding of themselves. Therefore, we are committed to providing a stimulating, varied and aspirational curriculum that brings this vision to life and meets the needs of all our children.
This curriculum is carefully planned into a progression framework (see link below) that clearly details the knowledge, skills and vocabulary children will learn and build upon throughout their history learning. Learning lenses, which are plotted in each unit, provide a focus on key themes which occur across history and allow children to form links with prior, current and future learning: Settlements, Belief, Culture & Pastimes, Location, Main Events, Food & Farming, Travel & Exploration, Conflict, Society, Artefacts.
Furthermore, the key disciplinary concepts of:
- Knowledge and understanding to build an overview of world history,
- Chronology,
- Historical enquiry,
- Present, organise and communicate history learning,
are utilised to help children develop within the discipline of history: we want children to know how we arrived at the established facts. These concepts interact closely with their substantive knowledge as they encourage children to think deeply about the content, spot patterns, notice changes and ask meaningful questions about what they are learning, subsequently making their knowledge secure. Timelines are used across school to support pupils develop their chronological skills and understanding, as well as further identifying important links to prior learning.
At Greenside, we bring history to life by enhancing our curriculum to further children’s curiosity of the past through the studying of physical artefacts, trips to local historical locations and inviting aspirational and informative visitors to school. Through this range of engaging and immersive experiences, pupils are able to develop their own judgements and opinions as historians and form a deepened understanding about how and why the world, our country, culture and local community have developed over time.