At Rishton Methodist Primary, we want our children to think like historians and have a rich historical knowledge. We want them to gain an understanding of our local history, Britain’s past and that of the wider world through the understanding of key concepts and enquiry questions. Using this knowledge, we want to instil a sense of advocacy in all our children, giving them the knowledge and courage to drive change in the world. Children should develop curiosity in what has come before them and how it has shaped current civilisations. They should be able to use sources of information to ask perceptive questions and draw opinions. The rich language curriculum should enable them to articulate their thoughts coherently and powerfully.

Our teaching will provide children with clear and comprehensive lessons, so that they understand history as a chronological narrative from ancient times to the present day. It should equip them with the ability to think critically, weigh evidence by sifting through arguments and develop perspective and judgement. In addition, History will help our children understand the complexity of people's lives, the process of change, the diverse civilisations and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time, developing a love for themselves and our diverse world. As quoted by John Wesley we want children to ‘watch over one and other with love’, equipping them with the tools to make positive change. 

Our aim is to start our children’s historical journey right from the very start of their reception year by building on from the Early Learning Goals of Understanding the World. In their time in Early Years, children will have talked about the lives and roles of people around them. They will have compared things in the past to how they are now, drawing on their own experiences and on texts they have shared, and they will have used the settings, characters and events they encounter in these stories to develop their understanding of the past.

In History, children are imparted with knowledge and understanding of history and its chronology. Children are taught to explore the cause and consequences of events, and their significance in time. As historians, children are taught the essential skills of being able to use and understand sources of evidence, enabling them to become greater depth historians, who always strive to achieve more (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Our History curriculum offer consists of golden threads that are built upon over their journey at Rishton Methodist. These golden threads are: 

Within each unit there in an enquiry question and linking threads which underpin the key knowledge and skills. The curriculum progresses through skills, knowledge and vocabulary. Knowledge organisers are used within each lesson to build upon prior knowledge and aid children’s understanding within each unit.

Though a high-quality education and a strong Methodist grounding our children will exemplify our vision of ‘rise up… take courage and do it’ (Ezra 10:4). Together learning and loving with both God and our global community. 

Evidence

At Rishton Methodist children have the opportunity to record their learning in a variety of ways, which is recorded within their topical books. Evidence of the learning is dependent on the lesson outcome, year group and the knowledge and skills being developed. This can be in the form of extended writing, photographs of practical activities, historical timelines, speech bubble comments relating to the learning.

Assessment

Teachers assess children’s learning throughout each lesson to ensure understanding of skills and knowledge before building onto future learning. Teachers use a range of questioning and retrieval practice to assess children against the aims of the lesson. In addition, children will also complete end point assessments at the end of each unit to assess their substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

Subject Leaders

Subject leaders will conduct deep dives, which include lesson drop ins, pupil interviews and book looks to measure the impact of our teaching, based on how much children can remember. Subject leaders will meet with SLT and will moderate the work and monitoring outcomes to ensure that standards are exceeding the expectations.

Updated September 2023