At St Nicholas, we aim for every child to: -

• know and understand the history of the British Isles as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts: understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales

 Most of all, to enjoy learning and develop as young Historians.

Teaching and Learning

Children learn key facts and concepts alongside skills such as chronological understanding, how to analyse and evaluate historical evidence, how to empathise with people from different eras and how to compare and contrast life in different periods. 

• Reception – Things that happen in my day, my year, Changes from when I was a baby
• Year 1 – My grandparents’ toys and my toys, Local history – Windsor, Explorers
• Year 2 – The Great Fire of London, History makers, Life during World War One
• Year 3 – The Stone Age, The Bronze Age and The Iron Age
• Year 4 – Roman Britain, Anglo Saxons, Vikings
• Year 5 – The Shang Dynasty, The Battle of Britain, Local history – Hampton Court
• Year 6 – Victorians, The Maya people, Ancient Greece

In EYFS children start with thinking about themselves and ordering events in their day progressing to looking at changes since they were a baby and then building upon things that happen during their year at school.

Children’s historical learning in Key Stage One starts with the familiar – looking at toys they play with today and comparing them to toys their grandparents played with in the 1960s. As children’s learning travels further back in time History is brought to life through a trip to Windsor Castle and a full day workshop on the Great Fire of London where children learn through drama and using their excavation skills.

In Key Stage Two the history of Britain is interwoven with that of the Ancient Civilisations of China and Greece.  Children explore the concepts of civilisation, continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance.  Immersive workshop days for Prehistoric Britain, The Romans and The Homefront develop children’s understanding of life in Britain during different eras.  Children express their learning through drama, art, discussion and writing.

• History Knowledge and skills Overview