History

OUR SCHOOL STATEMENT OF INTENT

Learning together, rooted in God, pupils at St Lawrence Church of England Primary School are easy to distinguish by the personal qualities they present. They are happy, confident, articulate children with a love of learning, who recognise and celebrate their own individuality and that of other members of our community. They are generous, kind and welcoming; they are forgiving and understand justice. With God by their side, they face the world with resilience, integrity and joy.

HISTORY

The school Statement of Intent is at the very heart of everything we do in school and History is no exception.
The History curriculum at Barton St Lawrence has been specifically chosen and adapted to meet the needs of our children, making rich use of local heritage and ensuring they leave school with a deep, connected understanding of the past. Learning builds systematically and sequentially, always linking back to prior knowledge and forward to future study, and whenever possible relates to life today.

We believe a high-quality History education helps pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Children are taught why History matters and how it changes over time. Through enquiry, they explore sources, weigh evidence and see how viewpoints and interpretations can differ.

CURRICULUM INTENT

To inspire curiosity and critical thinking about the past.

To build chronological understanding from the familiar and personal to the distant and global.

To develop the ability to analyse evidence, form balanced conclusions and recognise how history shapes our lives today.

HOW WE TEACH

History is taught through enquiry questions, discussion and hands-on exploration. Educational visits, artefact handling and drama bring learning to life. Each topic is rooted in prior knowledge and contributes to a secure chronological framework.

YEAR BY YEAR COVERAGE

Reception

Children explore past and present and learn about herbivores and carnivores. These units are child-led and taught at the point of greatest interest, nurturing a first sense of chronology.

Year 1

• Toys Past and Present (Autumn/Spring): Compare toys across 100 years and investigate changes in materials and play.

• The Great Fire of London (Summer): Discover 1666 London through model making and drama, building on early chronological skills.

Year 2

• Our Local Area over Time (Autumn): Explore how the Barton/Preston area has changed over the last century.

• Significant Individuals (Spring): Compare Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus, asking how exploration has shaped the world.

• Victorian Seaside Holidays (Summer): Contrast Victorian and modern holidays, linking to geography and literacy.

Year 3

• Preston and the Cotton Mills (Autumn): Extend local history knowledge to the industrial revolution.

• Stone Age Britain (Spring): Examine life before written records with a focus on Stonehenge.

• Roman Britain (Summer): Explore the Roman invasion and its lasting impact on Britain.

Year 4

• The Plague (Autumn): Study a key event in British history beyond 1066, revisiting London with more advanced historical thinking.

• Ancient Egypt (Summer): Investigate life along the Nile and the significance of pharaohs, pyramids and beliefs.

Year 5

• Anglo-Saxon Settlement (Autumn 1): Discover why Anglo-Saxons came to Britain and compare with present-day migrations.

• Viking and Anglo-Saxon Struggle for England (Autumn 2): Build on the previous unit to explore the Viking influence.

• Ancient Islamic Empire (Spring): Compare early Islamic achievements with modern-day life and other empires studied.

• Ancient Greece (Summer): Investigate democracy, philosophy and culture, comparing with earlier civilisations.

Year 6

• The Battle of Britain (Autumn): Analyse causes, events and consequences of this pivotal 20th-century conflict. Links to Remembrance and allows deep work with primary and secondary sources.

IMPACT

By the end of Year 6, pupils:

Speak confidently using precise historical vocabulary.

Understand cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and significance.

Evaluate sources for reliability and bias.

Make meaningful links between past and present, ready for secondary history.

SEND

Teachers use the school’s 12 Principles of Quality First Teaching to ensure every child can access History. This includes pre-teaching key vocabulary, breaking learning into small steps, providing visual timelines and scaffolding enquiry tasks.

ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED

Gifted historians show strong curiosity and the ability to evaluate evidence and construct arguments. We challenge them through higher-order questioning, independent projects and opportunities to present their findings.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR HISTORY

All year groups plan from the National Curriculum and cover all statutory requirements. The curriculum ensures pupils:

Know and understand the history of Britain as a coherent, chronological narrative.

Understand significant aspects of world history.

Gain and use historical vocabulary and concepts.

Learn how evidence is used to make historical claims and how interpretations of the past are formed.

For detailed objectives and progression of skills, please see the files at the bottom of this page or visit individual class pages.