History

C of A Skill Progression for History

Love of Learning

At Church of the Ascension, our high-quality teaching of history will inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Our units of enquiry will be enhanced and enriched by ‘engagement tasks’ to enthuse and engage our learners. This creative and exciting approach will help the children to develop a love of learning about history. There will be many opportunities to handle historical artefacts, learn through drama, dress up and visit places of historical interest.

Windows, Mirrors and Doors

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. Our pupils will be given the opportunity to reflect on their learning and respond to it. For example, children will be encouraged to reflect on the terrible consequences of anti-Semitism in World War II and respond appropriately by showing our Christian Core Value of respect to people of all faiths and cultures. At Church of the Ascension, we refer to this approach to learning as ‘Windows, Mirrors and Doors’ – we look through the window to learn, we use the mirror to reflect on our learning and then we go out through the door ready to act on our beliefs and values.

Independence and Resilience

Our teaching will equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, make well supported judgements and express themselves articulately using key words from topics and historical vocabulary. The development of these interpretation and enquiry skills will give pupils greater confidence to form opinions and make their own decisions, thus helping them to become more independent and resilient in their learning.

Preparation for life in modern Britain

We aim to prepare our pupils for living in modern Britain. As the majority of our pupils are White British, we feel it is especially important to provide them with a culturally and racially diverse history curriculum, reflective of the country and wider world we live in today.