History

History is a greatly valued part of our curriculum at Queensgate. It gives our children a sense of identity, set within our social, political, cultural and economic relationships. We aim for our children to have enquiring minds, ask thoughtful questions, think critically, weigh evidence, make their own interpretations and most importantly, love learning about the real people and events from the past.

Our History curriculum is designed to facilitate long-term learning. We know that children retain knowledge well when clear links are made between different historical periods, which is why we have carefully sequenced the order in which the topics are taught to ensure that prior knowledge is built upon and clear links can be made to previous and future learning.

Each term, the children are immersed in either a History or Geography topic. These topics include: The Romans, Ancient Civilisations, Invaders and Settlers, Ancient Maya and local history studies.  Our History teaching focuses on enabling children to think as historians by supporting them to find evidence, consider it and reach their own conclusions. We have created a Termly Knowledge Plan for each of our History topics. 

We challenge all learners to acquire subject specific vocabulary and develop their sense of chronology. We provide the children with opportunities to examine primary sources and historical artefacts as much as possible. We regularly arrange trips to museums and historically significant sites and invite visitors into the school to bring learning to life. We recognise and value the importance of stories in history teaching, and we regard this as an important way of stimulating interest in the past. We focus on helping children understand that historical events can be interpreted in different ways, and that they should always ask searching questions about information they are given.

By the time our children leave Queensgate they should not only have acquired a coherent knowledge and understanding of the Britain’s past and that of the wider world, but also have a thorough understanding on how local, national and international  events in the past have influenced our lives today.

“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.”

                                                                                      Theodore Roosevelt