Rufford Park Primary School

History

Mrs Amos is the current History Lead

Our Vision

Throughout our school, pupils have excitements and a keen interest in History and they look forward to future lessons. They are keen to express their enthusiasm for History and are often inspired to conduct their own research at home. Evidence of work is presented to high standard in their topic folders, through cross-curricular links and, at certain times, through their home projects

At Rufford Park, the teaching of history will enable children to develop a secure chronological narrative of the history of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

Our History curriculum ensures that all children have secure knowledge and understanding of the history of the United Kingdom with children understanding how people’s lives have shaped the nation.

Children will also gain an understanding of how Britain has influenced and has been influenced by the wider world.

Furthermore, children will gain knowledge and understanding of significant aspects of the history of the wider world. They will learn about the nature of ancient civilisations, the expansion and dissolution of empires and about characteristic features of past non-European societies.

Children will also learn about the achievements and follies of mankind.

Through the quality teaching of History, children will develop their understanding of historical vocabulary and abstract terms. Children will be taught how to carry out historical enquiries and how to frame historical valid questions. They will understand how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims. Children will be taught to make connections and draw contrasts between historical periods. They will analyse trends and use their literacy skills to create their own structured accounts.

Throughout the teaching of History at RPPS, children will be asked to recognise how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed. Children will gain historical perspective and will be confident in understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history.

Within History, children will use high quality fiction and non-fiction texts to learn about key features of events and about the lives of people living in different periods.

First-hand learning experiences such as topic boxes and educational visits will be used to enrich children’s learning of history and promote awe and wonder. Where possible, the local area and our local community will be used as a source to find out about the past.

Overall, through the teaching and learning of History, children will develop compassion and respect for the lives of those living in the past.

INTENT

Our principle aims for history are for children at Rufford Park to:

foster an enjoyment of the subject through exciting trips and visitors, and to develop a curiosity about the past which informs understanding of the present.
enable children to know about significant events in British history and to appreciate how things have changed over time by developing a sense of chronology.
place historical events and eras into a cohesive long-term narrative (e.g. did the Vikings live before or after the Ancient Egyptians?).
understand society and their place within it, so pupils develop a sense of their cultural heritage.
develop an awareness of the unique history of Yeadon – particularly its importance during the Victorian era and World War 2.
build a bank of factual knowledge about different periods of history, while also appreciating that history is an active process – to be discovered, analysed and debated – and not just a passive list of facts. In this respect, history behaves more like a verb, than a noun.
invite engaging visitors to Rufford Park, who may inspire the children to consider history-related careers in the future – such as archaeologist Dr Diane Davies (the UK’s foremost expert on the Ancient Maya), local historian Carlo Harrison (archivist for the Aireborough Historical Society) and historical theatre groups such as Matthew Bellwood (SomeStories).

IMPLEMENTATION

At Rufford Park, we inspire pupils’ curiosity and fascination about the past, through a variety of high quality trips and visitors – including our Great Fire of London workshop (where we create replicas of the buildings, before setting them alight on the school field), becoming Romans or Vikings for the day at Murton Park, visiting a 3000-year old Egyptian mummy at Leeds City Museum, participating in a real Victorian classroom and factory floor at Armley Mills, travelling back to the Stone Age at the Nell Bank roundhouse and a range of fun interactive drama workshops by Tempus Fugit.

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in history, we implement our curriculum across a 2-year rolling program that is progressive across phases. History is taught as part of a cross-curricular topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. At Rufford Park, our history topics often serve to drive our literacy lessons – enabling further contextual learning. Our curriculum maps provide details of our topics and when these are taught. They also outline key concepts that children must learn before moving onto their next phase of learning (including historical vocabulary such as ‘evidence’, ‘primary/secondary sources’, ‘BC/AD’ (BCE/CE) and the concept of ‘reliability’).

Pupils develop their knowledge and understanding about significant aspects of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations and empires. They learn about changes in living memory, changes beyond living memory and about the lives of significant people of the past.

Enquiry lessons play a crucial part in our curriculum. Enquiry questions usually form the basis for each Historical theme and also each individual session. Pupils are encouraged to think of themselves as ‘history detectives’ capable of asking and answering questions about the past by studying a variety of primary and secondary sources – including diaries, letters, paintings, photographs, videos, maps and artefacts. They are also given the opportunity to ask questions to visitors – including Dr Diane Davies (the UK’s foremost expert on the Ancient Maya), local historian Carlo Harrison (archivist for the Aireborough Historical Society) and Judith Rhodes (whose mother arrived in Britain as part of the Kindertransport).

We are fortunate to be based in the historic mill town of Yeadon. Before our students leave for secondary school, they develop a keen awareness of the unique history of our locality – particularly its importance during the Victorian era and World War 2. With the assistance of a local historian, the children study original artefacts and also compare maps and photographs with their modern equivalents. During our Victorians topic, we use our enquiry skills to investigate the life of a local mill owner by asking, ‘Who was William Murgatroyd?’

One of the biggest challenges of teaching history to primary-age children is to develop a cohesive sense of how different historical episodes fit together in a long-term narrative (e.g. How long was the Victorian era compared to the Roman Britain? Which came first?). Teachers look for frequent opportunities to investigate and recap chronological knowledge and consolidate pupils’ broader understanding of historical eras using a range of engaging activities (click here and here for an examples). Timelines are used at the start of each new topic, where the children are asked to reflect on the periods of history they have previously learned about, as well as concurrent periods for their new topic.

We also celebrate significant nationwide events as a school community. For the hundredth anniversary of the end of World War 1, every class visited our historic Yeadon Town Hall to read the names of the local men who fought in the conflict. Many of the children recognised their own surnames.

IMPACT

Outcomes in written work and ‘pupil voice’ interviews conducted by our history coordinator, evidence a broad and balanced history curriculum and demonstrates the children’s attainment of identified key knowledge. Pupils’ work shows that history is taught at an age-appropriate standard across each phase. Work is of a high standard and shows that pupils are acquiring knowledge, skills and vocabulary in an appropriate sequence. Emphasis is placed on analytical thinking and questioning which helps pupils gain a clear knowledge and understanding of both Yeadon and Britain’s past – and that of the wider world. School trips provide further relevant and contextual learning and pupil voice interviews. Pupil voice demonstrates that students greatly enjoy history and are beginning to recall their learning over time, placing historical episodes in a cohesive, long-term narrative.

The impact of our history curriculum is that our learners are equipped with the historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the secondary school curriculum.