Hadlow Primary School

Intent, Impact and Implementation Statement 2024-25

Intent

At Hadlow Primary School, our intent is to provide a high-quality History education that engages and inspires all pupils. We aim to develop a curiosity about the past and a deeper understanding of the world they live in. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that students acquire a coherent knowledge and understanding of significant events, people, and changes in history. We strive to foster critical thinking, enabling pupils to ask questions, think chronologically, and make connections between different historical periods and contexts. We will inspire children to not only recall what they know, but explore and discuss how they know it, engaging with a variety of primary and secondary sources.

Pillars and Threads

At Hadlow Primary School, our "Pillars" and "Golden Threads" provide a clear foundation that links our History curriculum to the National Curriculum. We ensure that children develop a broad understanding of historical concepts as their journey progresses from key concepts like significant people and significant events, to causation, consequence, impact and legacy over time.

Pillars

The Pillars represent the core themes and key concepts that underpin our History teaching. These pillars help students explore significant areas such as:

1. Chronology: Understanding the sequence of historical events and periods.
2. Diversity: Recognising the contributions of various cultures and societies throughout history.
3. Change and Continuity: Analysing how and why societies evolve over time while maintaining certain traditions.
4. Cause and Consequence: Investigating the reasons behind historical events and their impacts.

By focusing on these pillars, students gain a structured approach to learning history, aligning with the National Curriculum's emphasis on developing historical knowledge and skills.

Golden Threads

The Golden Threads weave through the curriculum, connecting various historical themes and ideas across different topics. These threads encourage pupils to:

• Make Connections: Draw parallels between historical events, fostering a deeper understanding of their significance and relevance today.
• Engage in Inquiry: Cultivate a questioning mindset, prompting students to explore historical sources and evidence critically.
• Develop Empathy: Understand diverse perspectives by exploring the lives and experiences of people from different eras.

Broad Understanding of Historical Concepts

By integrating the Pillars and Golden Threads into our History curriculum, students at Hadlow Primary School are provided with a comprehensive framework that enhances their learning. This approach not only adheres to the National Curriculum requirements but also ensures that students develop:

• Critical Thinking Skills: Analysing different interpretations of historical events.
• Contextual Awareness: Understanding how history shapes present and future societies.
• Personal Engagement: Finding personal connections to history, which fosters a lasting interest in the subject.

Overall, the Pillars and Golden Threads at Hadlow Primary School create a dynamic and interconnected History curriculum, enabling students to build a broad and nuanced understanding of historical concepts whilst enriching their experiences of the past.

Implementation

Our History curriculum is implemented through a carefully planned progression of knowledge and skills that aligns with the National Curriculum. We employ a variety of teaching methods, including interactive lessons, hands-on activities with enactive experiences (like handling artefacts), and field trips, to enhance learning experiences. Each topic is designed to be cross-curricular, integrating elements of art (exploring sources), literacy (developing vocabulary), maths (understanding chronology, time and number), and geography (discovering the wider world) to provide a rich context for historical inquiry. Formative assessments and Assessment for Learning is carried out regularly to monitor student understanding and inform future planning. Teachers receive ongoing professional development to ensure effective delivery of the curriculum and to keep abreast of best practices in History education.

Impact

The impact of our History curriculum is reflected in pupils’ enthusiasm for learning and their ability to articulate historical knowledge confidently. In Key Stage 1, children can identify key historical figures, interesting historical events and significant places from the past. Children can explain how they know about the past using sentences stems like “I know this because…” to strengthen their understanding.

By the end of Key Stage 2, students demonstrate a secure understanding of key historical concepts and can make connections to contemporary issues, such as through the rise and fall of Empires, the development of Citizenship, the significance of inventions and human development, and the interconnected nature of war, power and change. Our assessments indicate that a high percentage of pupils meet or exceed age-related expectations in History. Additionally, feedback from pupils, parents, and staff (through annual “voice” surveys) highlights the development of critical thinking skills, empathy, and a sense of identity, which are fundamental to their personal development and understanding of society. Our staff rate History as one of the favourite subjects to teach and most importantly, children at Hadlow Primary School find History to be captivating, interesting and memorable.

These statements underscore our commitment to providing a rich, engaging, and impactful History education that prepares our pupils for future learning and citizenship.

Assessment of History at Hadlow Primary School

At Hadlow Primary School, we implement a comprehensive assessment framework for History that aligns with the National Curriculum (KS1 and KS2) and ensures that student progress and understanding are effectively measured. Our assessment practices are designed to be formative and summative, providing a holistic view of each student's learning journey in history.

Key Points:

1. Formative Assessment/Assessment for Learning:
   • Observations: Teachers regularly observe the children’s engagement and participation during lessons to gauge understanding, including: Exit Tickets; Think-Pair-Share; Class Discussions; Concept Maps; Quizzes and Polls; Learning Reflections; Role-Playing; Peer Teaching: Graphic/Knowledge Organizers, like Venn Diagrams and Timelines
   • Questioning Techniques: Effective questioning strategies are used to encourage critical thinking and check for comprehension throughout the learning process, including a variety of open and closed question, particularly “how do you know?” and “what was the impact of…?”
   • Feedback: Constructive, verbal, actionable feedback is provided on an ongoing basis, helping children identify misconceptions and areas for improvement to develop their historical inquiry skills.
2. Summative Assessment:
   • End-of-Unit Assessments: Students demonstrate their understanding at the end of a term by answering the overall Enquiry Question – how can they demonstrate what they know and how they know it?
   • Children’s Books: Teacher’s will make a judgement based on the evidence of learning throughout the term, noting children that are not meeting the expected standard, and those exceeding the expected standard.
3. Skills Development:
   • Knowledge and Skills Framework: We utilize a skills progression framework that outlines expected knowledge and skills at each key stage. This is highlighted in the Long Term Plan and links to the Pillars and Threads
   • Self and Peer Assessment: Opportunities for self-assessment and peer feedback are integrated into lessons, promoting reflective learning and collaboration.
4. Intervention, Support and Adapted Provision:
   • Targeted Support: Based on assessment data, targeted interventions are put in place for students who require additional support, ensuring all learners can achieve their potential.
   • Regular Data Reviews: Teachers participate in regular reviews of assessment data to adapt teaching strategies and ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of all students.
   • SEN: Children with Special Education Needs are identified and planned for in advance of the lesson, with resources, inputs and expectations adapted so that all children have the same opportunity to meet the Learning Objective, in their own way.

By employing these assessment strategies, Hadlow Primary School ensures that the teaching and learning of history is not only effective but also engaging, fostering a deep understanding of historical concepts and skills among our students.

Pupil Voice:

Year 2:

“I have learnt about kings, queens and castles this term. Queen Victoria is my favourite because she was a lovely queen – people really liked her. We got to invade Rowan class – we did it to learn about being powerful. We helped Mrs Reid, our queen, to gain more power. This is what old kings and queens did, they don’t really do it now”

“I loved designing my own queen. I wanted to look like I have lots of money; I gave myself a crown and jewellery and a big dress; it shows how important I am. Queens are really important but they are different now”

“History is stuff, like people, that happened a long time ago. I really enjoy learning history”

Year 3:

“We’ve been learning about the stone age. We learn about tools and building and megaliths and how people created things in the past. I know about how people survived because of videos and pictures, cave paintings, bones”

“They had different types of stone, like flint and hard rocks, that could make tools like axes and hammers; we saw real ones that they used to use and did our own cave painting like they would have. It was like we were there”

“History is learning about the past. We do the stone age first because it happened first. We need to know about them now before we can learn what happens next”

Year 4:

“History is learning about the past and how it effects the future. We’ve learnt about how things like tools were used differently in the past. We discovered copper and how’s it better than flint – you can use metal for more things than rock”

“We’re learning about the Iron Age now – I know it’s different from what we learnt last year because tools are more advanced and do more for people. We still use metal now”

“I’ve learnt about archaeologists and historians and what they do; I’ve learnt from videos, tools, fossils, images and artefacts like bones, arrowheads and more stuff. People have really changed a lot”

Year 5:

“We learn from lots of sources like videos, maps, pictures and artefacts. I know primary sources are things that were there at the time and secondary sources are stuff like videos where people talk about history”

“I like learning about the past, it’s really fun and engaging. I loved learning about Sutton Hoo and the boat; we got to really explore it and think about exploration. There’s lots that we can investigate and interpret”

“We learnt about the Romans last year as they come before the Anglo-Saxons – it really helped me understand how things have changed over time, like power. We learn it in chronological order; things change because of what happened before”

Year 6:

“The number of people killed in the wars is mind-boggling. I like that we get to learn the gory side of history, because it’s actually what happened. History is really fun – it’s real stuff and new; some new stuff can really blow your mind”

“We use different sources to learn about history – they are primary and secondary. This term we’ve used google, databases, photos, the Imperial War Museum, a school trip, paintings and tapestries, drawings and letters too. Also, you talking to us”

“History is my favourite subject because we get to interpret stuff; we get to do some guessing and think about whether things are actually true or not. I ask myself a lot of questions and get to ask you questions too”