To be a historian, we focus on the following history learning intentions:
To provide children with memorable learning experiences that engage and inspire them to investigate and interpret the past.
To enable children to make personal connections between their own lives and past human experience.
To develop a secure understanding of chronology so that they have an internalised timeline or framework that they can use to place new information correctly.
To enable children to gain an understanding of their place in the world and an overview of world history.
To develop an understanding of cause and consequence.
To broaden basic skills, such as enquiry, curiosity, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation.
To inspire curiosity through asking and answering historical questions.
Key learning concepts:
• Investigate and Interpret the Past
• Build an Overview of World History
• Understand Chronology
• Communicate Historically
The children of Orford and the nearby villages grow up surrounded by evidence of the great history of the British Isles; from the Norman fortress of Orford castle on our doorstep, to the world-famous Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon burial ground at nearby Rendlesham, as well as Orford Ness and the vital role it played in the development of Britain’s radar defence systems.
Through our rich and varied history curriculum, we intend to inspire our children to make meaningful links to local history, enhancing their sense of identity and community; and expand this to develop a coherent chronological narrative of Suffolk, Britain and the wider world.
We want our children to become curious about history; to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence and develop perspective and judgement about people and events both recent and ancient.
By the time pupils leave Orford CofE Primary School, we intend to ensure they understand key historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, and significance. Through finding out about how and why the world, our country, culture and local community have developed over time, children understand how the past influences the present.
Our curriculum at Orford is shaped by our mission of sowing faith, growing learners and inspiring futures. We believe in every child’s potential and provide an aspirational, enriched curriculum that gives pupils the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to be lifelong learners, supporting their progress through school and into adult life.
To implement a history curriculum that is aligned with this mission, we have created a long-term humanities program that is coherently planned and sequenced to build knowledge and skills progressively across year groups and gives each Key Stage the opportunity to explore significant periods of local, national and global history. Our medium- and short-term planning ensures coverage of substantive content and disciplinary concepts, with explicit links to local history and chronology.
Teaching approaches include enquiry-based learning, active learning strategies (e.g., role play, debate), and the use of a wide range of historical sources. Timelines and chronological frameworks are embedded in classroom practice to develop a strong sense of chronology. Lessons are structured to build on prior knowledge and encourage recall of key facts and concepts, address misconceptions, promote critical thinking, and encourage curiosity.
Our resources are carefully selected to reflect diversity, relevance, and accessibility, including artefacts, digital media, and local community links.
Adaptations and scaffolding are provided to ensure all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged backgrounds, can access and succeed in History.
By the time pupils leave Orford they will have:
A secure knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from the historical periods covered.
The ability to think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.
The ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detail and appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.
The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past, forming and refining questions and lines of enquiry.
A passion for history and an enthusiastic engagement in learning, which develops their sense of curiosity about the past and their understanding of how and why people interpret the past in different ways.
A respect for historical evidence and the ability to make robust and critical use of it to support their explanations and judgements.
A desire to embrace challenging activities, including opportunities to undertake high-quality research across a range of topics.
We will monitor this through:
Ongoing formative assessment strategies including: questioning, observation, feedback, and the use of success criteria.
Summative assessment at key points to evaluate pupils’ knowledge, understanding, and application of historical concepts.
Tracking progress against curriculum objectives, with particular attention to the development of chronological understanding and disciplinary knowledge.
Using assessment outcomes diagnostically to identify and address misconceptions and to inform future planning.
Regularly reviewing pupil progress to ensure all groups, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils, are achieving well.