History

At St Mary’s, history helps children understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups.

Our curriculum enables children to develop a coherent knowledge of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It inspires curiosity, encourages thoughtful questioning and helps children understand how the past has shaped their community, their identity and the world in which they live.

Our history curriculum reflects our mission:

Rooted in Love • Faith in Action • Learning for Life

History brings our curriculum golden threads to life:

Belonging: children explore the history of their family, school, parish, village, country and the wider communities to which they belong.
Independence and Curiosity: children ask worthwhile questions, investigate evidence and reach their own supported conclusions.
Responsibility: children consider the consequences of human choices and learn to approach the experiences of people in the past with dignity, empathy and respect.

Our teaching follows the current statutory National Curriculum for History.

Our Approach to History

We want children to know important historical information and understand how knowledge about the past is constructed.

History teaching therefore develops two connected forms of knowledge:

Substantive knowledge: knowledge of the people, events, places, periods, dates and developments children study.
Disciplinary knowledge: knowledge of how historians investigate, interpret and communicate the past.

Children need both. Knowing isolated facts is not enough, but children cannot reason meaningfully about the past without secure knowledge of what happened, when it happened and the historical context in which it occurred.

Our curriculum therefore helps children to:

Know the past → Think like historians → Explain using evidence

Substantive Knowledge

Substantive knowledge is the content children learn about the past. It includes:

people and communities;
events and developments;
periods and dates;
places and civilisations;
important historical vocabulary; and
recurring concepts that connect different areas of history.

Across our curriculum, children repeatedly encounter concepts such as:

belonging and community;
power and belief;
conflict and consequence;
movement and connection;
technology and knowledge;
continuity and change;
voice and diversity; and
significance and legacy.

Revisiting these ideas helps children make connections between different periods rather than experiencing history as a collection of unrelated topics.

Disciplinary Knowledge

Disciplinary knowledge helps children understand how history is investigated and constructed. It enables them to recognise that our understanding of the past is based on evidence and that historical accounts may differ.

Children progressively learn to think through the following historical lenses:

Chronology: When did this happen? What came before and after?
Cause and consequence: Why did it happen and what followed?
Change and continuity: What changed and what remained similar?
Similarity and difference: How were people’s experiences alike or different?
Sources and evidence: What can this source help us understand, and what are its limitations?
Historical interpretations: Why might accounts of the past differ?
Significance: Why is a person, event or development remembered?
Enquiry and communication: How can evidence be selected and organised to answer a historical question?

These aspects of historical thinking become increasingly sophisticated as children progress through school.

Curriculum Organisation

History is organised through carefully chosen enquiry questions. Each unit begins with an answerable historical question rather than simply a topic title.

Children develop secure knowledge before using it to investigate sources, explain relationships and reach supported conclusions.

Every history unit identifies:

a clear enquiry question;
its chronological period;
essential knowledge and vocabulary;
recurring historical concepts;
a principal disciplinary focus;
a purposeful range of sources;
expectations for each year group;
diverse voices and perspectives; and
a meaningful outcome that answers the enquiry.

History and geography may alternate across different half-terms. This provides sufficient time for children to explore each subject in appropriate depth while making meaningful connections between people, places and environments.

History Across the Curriculum

History makes meaningful connections with other subjects while retaining its distinct disciplinary identity.

Children may apply their learning through:

reading historical fiction and non-fiction;
writing explanations, reports and supported arguments;
locating events and movement geographically;
examining scientific or technological developments;
studying religious belief and communities;
interpreting historical data;
creating historically informed artwork; and
using digital resources to research and communicate findings.

These connections deepen children’s understanding, but history lessons remain focused on historical questions, evidence and ways of thinking.

Knowing That Children Are Succeeding

The impact of our history curriculum is evident when children:

remember increasingly connected knowledge about the past;
place people, periods and events within an accurate chronological framework;
use historical vocabulary confidently;
make connections between local, national and global history;
identify and explain causes and consequences;
recognise change, continuity, similarity and difference;
select and interpret relevant evidence;
understand that sources have different uses and limitations;
recognise that historical interpretations may differ;
reach supported judgements about significance;
communicate coherent answers to historical enquiries; and
approach the experiences of people in the past with curiosity, care and respect.

We want children to leave St Mary’s with a secure foundation of historical knowledge, an informed curiosity about the past and the ability to consider evidence before reaching conclusions.

Assessment

Assessment is woven throughout each history enquiry.

Before a unit, teachers check children’s relevant prior knowledge, vocabulary and chronological understanding. During teaching, they use questioning, retrieval, timeline activities, source work and pupil explanations to identify understanding and adapt future lessons.

At the end of a unit, children answer the central enquiry question through an appropriate outcome. This may be communicated through discussion, writing, presentation, exhibition or another carefully selected form.

Teachers assess:

substantive knowledge;
chronological understanding;
use of sources and evidence;
historical explanation;
use of vocabulary; and
the ability to reach a supported conclusion.

The same enquiry may be shared across a mixed-age class, but assessment expectations are matched to each year group.

Children’s knowledge is revisited in later units so that teachers can check what has been retained and whether pupils can make connections over time.

Supporting History at Home

Families can help children develop an interest in history by exploring the stories, objects and places around them.

You can support your child by:

sharing family stories and photographs;
discussing how everyday life has changed;
looking at old and modern maps;
visiting museums, castles and historic places;
exploring local buildings and landmarks;
talking to older relatives about their experiences;
watching age-appropriate historical programmes;
reading historical fiction and non-fiction;
creating family or event timelines; and
encouraging children to ask questions about evidence.

Helpful questions include:

What do you notice?
When might this have happened?
What evidence supports that idea?
Who created this source and why?
Whose voice might be missing?
What changed and what remained the same?
Why might different people remember this differently?

Useful resources include:

History Curriculum Documents

Please use the links below to explore how historical knowledge and thinking develop progressively through our school:

History Progression: Substantive and Disciplinary Knowledge
History Curriculum Overview 2026–27
Proposed History Overview 2027–29
National Curriculum for History

Our current history curriculum has been designed against the statutory National Curriculum. It will be reviewed when the final revised National Curriculum is published, ahead of its planned implementation from September 2028.

History Progression docx