History

History is the study of the past. It helps children understand how people lived, what they believed, and how their actions shaped the world we know today. Through history, pupils explore important events, significant individuals, and everyday life in different times. It encourages curiosity, develops critical thinking, and helps children make sense of change and continuity in their own lives and communities.

At St. John Fisher Catholic Primary school, History inspires curiosity, critical thinking and a deeper understanding of the world. Through engaging stories, rich resources and enquiry-led learning, we help every child achieve as thoughtful historians, belong to a community that values our shared past, and thrive as confident, reflective learners.

⭐ Achieve

Our History curriculum enables children to develop strong knowledge and historical skills. We support children to:

Build a secure understanding of significant people, events and periods
Develop chronological awareness and a sense of time
Use historical sources to ask questions, investigate and draw conclusions
Understand cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and change over time
Communicate their ideas clearly and confidently

Every child is encouraged to think critically, explore deeply and take pride in their historical understanding.

🤝 Belong

History helps children recognise their place in a wider community and understand the stories that connect us. We ensure pupils:

Explore the local area and learn about its heritage
Engage in discussions that respect different cultures and perspectives
Participate in shared experiences such as themed days, reenactments and visits
Work together on collaborative research and enquiry tasks
Feel valued as contributors to our collective understanding of the past

Through History, children learn that they are part of a diverse and connected world.

🌱 Thrive

Our History curriculum supports children’s personal growth, curiosity and confidence. We help learners:

Develop resilience through questioning, debate and exploration
Strengthen reasoning, communication and problem-solving skills
Gain confidence in expressing viewpoints with evidence
Understand the relevance of history to their own lives
Cultivate a lifelong interest in the past and its impact on the present

We aim to inspire a love of learning and encourage children to explore history with enthusiasm.

🏺An Enquiry-Led, Knowledge-Rich Curriculum

Our History provision includes:

Carefully sequenced topics covering a wide range of eras and cultures
Use of artefacts, photographs, oral histories and digital resources
Educational visits to museums, heritage sites and local landmarks
Cross-curricular links that bring historical learning to life
Opportunities to develop independent research skills

Curriculum Overview

Early Years

History is taught in Reception and children are given the opportunity to find out about past and present events in their own lives, and those of their families and other people they know. This makes a significant contribution to developing a child’s understanding of the world, through a variety of child-initiated and adult-led activities. Pupils will learn how the past is different from the present.

Key Stage 1

During Key Stage 1, pupils learn about people’s lives and lifestyles. They learn about significant men, women, children and events from the recent and more distant past in Britain and the wider world. They listen and respond to stories and use sources of information to develop skills that help with historical enquiry.

Key Stage 2

During Key Stage 2 pupils learn about change and continuity in their own area, in Britain and in other parts of the world. They look at history in a variety of ways, for example from political, economic, social, religious and cultural perspectives. They use different sources of information to help them investigate the past both in depth, using dates and historical vocabulary to describe events, people and developments. They also learn that the past can be represented and interpreted in different ways. We encourage pupils to critically evaluate historical sources for elements of bias by the end of KS2.

Enrichment Opportunities

Pupils have access to Trips and workshops are organised across the school to ensure children are engaging with the content taught.

History National Curriculum

early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school based providers pdf.pdf

primary national curriculum history.pdf

Knowledge Organisers

Year 1 and 2 Knowledge Organisers

Year 1 and 2 - Exploring Time (Spring Term) Cycle A

exploring time year 1 and 2 knowledge organiser.pdf

Year 1 and 2 - Castles (Spring Term) Cycle B

castles ko.pdf

Year 3 Knowledge Organisers

Year 3 - Ancient Britain (Spring Term)

knowledge organiser ancient britain.pdf

Year 4 Knowledge Organisers

Year 4 - Ancient Egypt (Autumn Term)

ancient egypt year 4.pdf

Year 5 Knowledge Organisers

Year 5 - The Romans (Autumn Term)

the romans knowledge organiser.docx

Year 5 - British Invasion (Spring Term)

british invasion year 5.pdf

Year 6 Knowledge Organisers

Year 6 - WW2 (Autumn Term)

knowledge organiser ww2.pdf

Black History Month

October is an important month in our school, where we take time to reflect on Black History and learn the importance of equality. We explored key women in history across all the curriculum subjects .