History at St. Joseph's

At St. Joseph's we use Kapow Primary, an award winning programme of study, for the teaching and learning of History. 

We ensure that the following skills and knowledge are taught:

• Substantive concepts: discovering and understanding the driving forces behind events in human history.
• Disciplinary concepts: building the understanding necessary to become young historians.
• Historical enquiry: developing analytical and investigative methods for approaching historical questions.

We aim to inspire pupils to be curious and creative thinkers who develop a complex knowledge of local and national history and the history of the wider world. We want pupils to develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and be able to explain and analyse historical evidence. Through learning at our school, we aim to build an awareness of significant events and individuals in global, British and local history and recognise how things have changed over time.

History will support children to appreciate the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups. Studying History allows children to appreciate the many reasons why people may behave in the way they do, supporting children to develop empathy for others while providing an opportunity to learn from mankind’s past mistakes.

We aim to support pupils in building their understanding of chronology in each year group, making connections over periods of time and developing a chronologically-secure knowledge of History. We hope to develop pupils’ understanding of how historians study the past and construct accounts and the skills to carry out their own historical enquiries.

In order to prepare pupils for their future learning in History, we aim to introduce them to key substantive concepts including power, invasion, settlement and migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of humankind, society and culture.