History at Sewell Park Academy

 

The National Curriculum says that History should:

• “Help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

 

• 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.”

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​​​What are our aims and vision as a History Department?

• INSPIRE a passion for History

• INFORM students’ understanding of the world they are growing up in

• IMPART key skills to enable our students to be successful in the future

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As such, the SPA History Key Stage Three curriculum is designed to meet the specific requirements of the National Curriculum whilst also laying the foundations for GCSE study.

• Our key curriculum principles are to:

  • provide a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum which develops historical knowledge and understanding

  • develop historical vocabulary and academic literacy

  • present content in a clear and engaging manner

  • check students’ understanding regularly and systematically

• Topics are sequenced chronologically in order to facilitate students’ understanding of the ‘flow’ of history.

• Topics are carefully selected to give a broad overview of British history whilst also exploring how Britain has influenced - and been influenced by - events around the world.

• ‘BIG IDEAS’ are embedded within each Topic to allow students to explore fascinating events, individuals and concepts from history that may sit outside the normal programme of study whilst providing a meaningful context for building cultural capital.

• ‘FUTURE YOUs’ are also embedded within each Topic to demonstrate how a passion for history may inspire a range of future career choices.

• ‘ACADEMIC LITERACY’ is taught explicitly in order to develop students’ vocabulary and promote competent use of language in a variety of contexts.

 

At KS4 we follow the Edexcel GCSE History Specification, covering ‘Medicine in Britain’, ‘Anglo-Saxon and Norman England’, ‘Superpower Relations and the Cold War’ and ‘Weimar and Nazi Germany’. We aim to enable students to: 

• Experience a coherent and substantial course of study. 

• To develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience. 

• Engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers. 

• Develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context. 

• Develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them. 

• Organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.

• ‘BIG IDEAS’, ‘FUTURE YOUs’ and ACADEMIC LITERACY continue to be an integral part of KS4 History delivery.