History

Intent

First and foremost, we want our students to be as passionate and dedicated to history as we are. This happens through our broad and balanced curriculum and the learning activities conducted in each lesson. They are engaging with clear objectives and allow for students of all abilities to access the lesson and work to the best of their ability. This is also achieved through our offering of school trips, where we give the students a chance to understand historical concepts and content in a very real, tangible manner.

Secondly, we want our students to develop their historical skills in a way that will allow them to apply them to different contexts within school and in their life. Being able to discern truth, analyse interpretations of events, understand why people act in a certain manner or hold particular views on specific topics, use a range of ways to communicate ideas and create meaningful arguments based on clear evidence are all skills which are crucial to the study of History and equally important in the time period we live in.

Further information

Key Stage 3

The main purpose of history at Key Stage 3 is to help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of local history, Britain’s past and that of the wider world. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

Intent

To provide an overview of British and non-British history incorporating:

The story of power authority and conflict
The story of beliefs and religious developments
The story of every- day lives (social history)

These will be explored through enquiry based teaching embedding contextual knowledge and a chronological framework underpinned by the key skills examined at GCSE:

Cause and consequence
Change and continuity
Significance
Interpretation
Similarity and difference
Analysis and Evaluation

What will we expect of history students at the end of KS3?

Students will gain a chronological overview of events and this approach supports continuous progression. It allows students to 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.

A good history student will:

be able to set events, issues and people within the context of their own time and to display empathetic understanding of the views, norms and conditions of those times.
be able to read and understand historical sources in the context of their production and set firmly against the student’s knowledge
understand and be able to explain the causation of significant events and prioritise the causes of events
recognise that there are differing interpretations of the past and be able to evaluate the different views
be able to make judgements about the significance of events, issues and people and explain why certain events are significant and what the impacts of significant events are
be able to examine the utility of historical sources and information by measuring them against provenance and wider knowledge

The KS3 History course provides students with a chronological knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain and the wider world. Students will develop their knowledge and understanding of continuity and change, and their ability to explain events and developments. They will do this by studying changes in political power, religious developments, and social change. They will follow enquiries to examine the impact of these changes on people’s lives and on the development of the UK. They will also develop their awareness of different ideas and interpretations about the past. They will be able to recognise and then to evaluate, different views of the past based on their knowledge and on the provenance of historical sources. The course will provide a basis for the skills required at GCSE.

Key Stage 4

At KS4, students build on the foundations laid in KS3 and further develop their knowledge and understanding of history. Connections are made between the KS4 and KS3 programmes of study, for example, between Medieval Britain, Early Modern Britain, Industrial Britain and the medical changes that took place In the same way we cover the First World War and Germany. Students also develop their history skills with increasing complexity in areas such as analysis, evaluation, explanation, substantiating conclusions and formulating arguments based on evidence. An additional significant focus is on chronology so students develop their understanding of historical narratives and an overview of the topics studied. This is particularly important regarding their understanding of change, continuity and turning-points. By the end of the five years, they have become more independent and have been prepared for further study.

It is our intention to support the learning of all abilities through effective scaffolding and challenge. It is also our intention to support students who may be disadvantaged through providing access to our resources, for example, our topic booklets and revision resources for KS4.

Key Stage 5

At KS5, students build on the foundations laid in KS3 and KS4 and further develop their knowledge and understanding of history. Connections are made between the KS4 and KS3 programmes of study, for example between Early Modern Britain and the 20th century dictatorships.

The main purpose of this qualification is to prepare learners by providing a suitable foundation for the study of history or related courses in Higher Education. A further purpose of this qualification is to prepare learners intending to pursue careers or further study in history, or as part of a general education. This qualification is designed to foster the development of critical and reflective thinking with an understanding of historical topics and issues; and to encourage an awareness of the importance of historical awareness in explaining contemporary issues

The scheme of learning for Year 12 broadly follows the order in which the content is set out in the specification. Teaching will start in Year 12 with  Unit 1 and Unit 2 taught alongside each other. Unit 1 with 6 hours per fortnight, Unit 2 with 4 hours per fortnight.  In Year 13 Unit 3 and Unit 4 (coursework) are delivered alongside each other to provide time to prepare for revision of all 3 exam units. This approach allows the delivery of Unit 3 and Unit 4 to make connections to the skills in Unit 1 and Unit 2 to ensure students build on and develop these. This approach supports continuous progression. 

Curriculum Plans

Curriculum time allocation

KS3 - 3 hours a fortnight

KS4 - 6 hours a fortnight (option)

KS5 - 10 hours a fortnight (option)

SEND Learner Experience in History

Planning

When planning lessons, we use all SEND information documents available; Individual Learning Plans, EHCP documents and reading age scores to ensure a sound knowledge of individuals' needs and that appropriate resources are used to support learning. The seating plan is carefully organised and a class plan is completed for every class.

Work scrutiny is used to prioritise students with SEND and assess how effectively progress is being made. If not, we make reasonable adjustments to their experience based on the information we hold and liaise with the SENDCo where appropriate.

When planning our schemes of work, we ensure that we create a curriculum in which there is a clear revisiting of topics, subjects or themes throughout the course. This ensures a deepening of skills and knowledge, with each successive encounter building on the previous one.

Retrievals used to reinforce learning
Clear learning journey with ‘know it, link it, say it’
Explicit teaching of vocabulary
Explicit modelling using guided practice
Time for deliberate practice.

Before each lesson

We ensure that each class has a set seating plan for their lesson to enable us to identify SEND students and deliver timely support.

Moreover, directorate meetings have a standing SEND point on the agenda where discussions take place to identify and plan for individual needs.

Entry routine

We welcome the students into the classroom, using thresholding, ensuring all students feel recognised. We use routine and procedure to establish common expectations, e.g the retrieval task is always on the board or, where appropriate, printed out and on desks.

During teaching

We use the Tavistock College Charter to ensure consistency of experience.

Resources are created to ensure all students can access the lesson.

'3,2,1, STAR behaviours’ and tracking are used to ensure all students understand and engage with the task.

We pre-warn students when we are about to cold-call for questions.

After each lesson

We use the evidence seen in student books to inform our planning of the next lesson.

After each assessment

We use the evidence seen in student work to inform our planning of the next lesson. We have a reteach lesson where misconceptions and common errors are clarified and explained.

Data analysis includes a focus on SEND students.

Reading and literacy in History

Subject contact

Andrea Ruse
a.ruse@dmatschools.org.uk

Niki Sealey
n.sealey@dmatschools.org.uk