The aim of history at Parbold Douglas is to enable children to gain a coherent knowledge of the past and to understand the powerful role that this knowledge can play in helping us all shape and improve God’s world. History at Parbold Douglas should inspire pupils to be curious, ask questions and consider past events carefully, understanding the relevance to life today.

Our school values in History

Through history, our pupils are equipped to live out our shared Christian values and let their light shine through learning about past events, making connections and drawing contrasts. Pupils will begin to understand how the behaviours of individuals and cultures have far reaching and long lasting influences. They will be empowered to realise they are creating history in the choices they make and the way they live their lives.

Through learning about the history of our local area and local Church we embed a sense of community, feeling united and blessed to be part of the special area where we attend school and Church.  Through our discussions of past behaviours, we demonstrate how learning from the mistakes of the past builds hope for the future and helps us to create God’s Kingdom here on Earth. Learning about the significant achievements of groups and individuals from the past, we promote a sense of thankfulness for the great discoveries and progress that has been made which allow us to live the lives we do today. Pupils show compassion for others by understanding some of the difficulties faced by some groups in society in the past, how the effects of this can still be felt many years later and how people act to bring about change.

Meeting the needs of our pupils in History

In many units across the key stages there is a focus on other cultures which helps our pupils understand the diversity of society. They learn how, for many years, people have travelled across the world for many reasons, bringing new knowledge and ways of life and diversifying and enriching societies further. Many topics within our history curriculum are enriched with drama and debate, encouraging the children to communicate with confidence. Understanding how past events and mistakes contribute to the success of the future, helps embed resilience in our children. They come to understand that mistakes are part of a process of learning that leads to progress.

Overview

Our history curriculum covers all aspects of the National Curriculum and areas of focus include:

• The children’s own history and how they have changed over time
• The Great Fire of London
• Children in World War One
• Great Explorers (significant individuals)
• Tudor Kings and Queens (significant individuals)
• The Titanic
• Stone Age to Iron Age
• Ancient Civilisations- Egypt, Greece, Maya
• The Roman Empire
• The Settlement of Anglo –Saxons to the time of Edward the Confessor
• The Battle of Britain
• Local History Studies (Leeds- Liverpool Canal, Christ Church Parbold)
• Constant Change: Modern Technology and Communication
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade

The National Curriculum states History should “help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past”. It also states that history has a broader influence in that it “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.” 

We seek to immerse children in the past and engage them, fostering their curiosity and building a sense of awe in the past. They should not only learn about some of the fascinating events of the past, but also the skills of empathy, enquiry and discussion. We want them to know key events and where they fit within a historical chronology, but we also want our children to question why…? How…? What if…?

As they advance through the school, children should increasingly become ‘historical detectives’. Not only looking at and using sources, but thinking critically about their implications and value as well as sifting through the murky waters of fact and opinion. History provides great opportunity for cross curricular links such as holding debates, understanding where in the world certain events took place and why, putting ourselves in the situation of others developing skills of empathy and also learning how and when to be objective when investigating and looking for fact.

These cross curricular links will be capitalised on as much as possible. At the end of their historical journey with us, our hope is that children are fascinated by the past of Britain and the wider world, understand the complexity and diversity of society and begin to understand their own identity and the challenges of their time.

To find out more about History, please contact the Curriculum Lead and History Lead (Miss Bixter).

Our Curriculum Policy can be found on the Policies page (link below).