History Subject Intent Statement

The Colchester School’s Primary History Curriculum helps pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of chronology, Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

 Our History Curriculum is based on key knowledge and concepts which form enquiry questions, harnessing and developing the pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Pupils have repeated encounters with a wide range of important concepts in a number of different contexts.

History teaching across the Colchester schools encourages pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, empathetically and with compassion. They are encouraged to use their knowledge about the past (substantive knowledge) and their knowledge about how historians investigate the past, and how they construct historical claims, arguments and accounts (disciplinary knowledge) to build a meaningful understanding of the discipline. The use of a creative based approach ensures the children are motivated to learn and remember more.

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. At our schools, the History Curriculum will help children to gain a knowledge of local history in order to help them belong and understand their place in the world; as well as a broader understanding of all history, how this has led to the world as it is today and how they can use the past to gain the courage to contribute and change the world for the better.