History Curriculum

Welbeck Primary School develops the History Curriculum through expanding children’s knowledge of historical periods, events and significant individuals. Children are given a range of opportunities to progress their chronological understanding, discuss strategies to analyse and evaluate historical evidence, whilst also developing their ability to compare and contrast life in different periods. At Welbeck, we discover the past in phase groups, over a two year cycle:

Phase	Cycle 1	Cycle 2
EYFS	History forms part of the, ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’ branch of the curriculum, so is fed into each topic, where appropriate, to develop their early historical vocabulary.
Key Stage One	Castles, Dungeons and Dragons; Magnificent Monarchs	The Great Fire of London; Wonderful Women in History
Lower Key Stage Two	World War 1; The Vikings	The Stone Age; Romans
Upper Key Stage Two	Titanic; Crime and Punishment	World War 2; Democracy

The children’s journey through time begins in Key Stage One, where they focus on their own pasts and the pasts of their families. As they develop their use of historical vocabulary in a familial context, they move further back in time to discover significant events of the past that have shaped the present day. Their experiences of these events are brought to life through exciting trips, experience days, themed weeks and Access Artefacts Resource boxes that delve into how people lived and encourage the children to reflect on how their lives are different today.

As they progress up to Key Stage Two, children continue to benefit from asking questions about the past. They embed the historical vocabulary they have used in previous year groups, whilst also developing different perspectives and thinking critically about significant events that have happened over time. Their curiosity is sparked by exploring a wide variety of resources to analyse, giving them a comprehensive overview of how our ancestors lived.

Through each phase, we also take advantage of the opportunities in our local area and beyond through trips to Nottingham Castle, the Broadway Cinema, the Galleries of Justice plus many more which ensure children gain the most out of their learning!

History Progression of Skills