At Weston Turville C.E. School, the aim of history teaching is to stimulate the children’s interest and understanding about the lives of people who have lived in the past, the effect that they had on others, and how their legacy still has an impact on the world today.  We aim to teach children to think as historians. For this to happen it is important children are given the opportunities to develop the skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation with a variety of primary and secondary sources of information. We believe the teaching of chronology is important as children need to understand the passage and organisation of time to develop a proper understanding of the past and developments through time.

We are lucky to have a wealth of local historical sites to support the children with their learning.  Visits and themed days provide the children with new experiences and bring the past to life, in an engaging and stimulating way. 

The Reception children will develop an awareness of the past through their own lives, and the lives of some key figures.

In Key Stage 1 children will learn about significant individuals who have contributed to the world. Children will also learn about significant historical events within the local area. In Key Stage 1 we will be looking back at changes within living memory such as how shops and homes have changed as well as events beyond living memory such as the Gunpowder plot and The Great Fire of London. The children’s learning is placed within a chronological format.

In Key Stage 2 children will continue to appreciate history in a chronological context. They will work on securing an understanding of British, local and world history. In lower Key Stage 2 children will be focusing on areas such as prehistoric Britain and Ancient Egypt whilst Upper Key Stage 2 will be looking at the Ancient Greeks and World War II among other things. Children will look at connections and patterns over time and develop a good use of historical vocabulary.

As a school, we believe that high-quality history lessons encourage critical thinking, the ability to weigh evidence, the chance to form strong arguments, and allow pupils to develop perspective and judgement. 

Through high-quality history lessons we aim to encourage critical thinking, as well as helping the children to gain a sense of their own identity within a social, political, cultural and economic background.  Regular opportunities for revision and reflection on the history topics covered throughout the children’s time at our school, will allow for comparison as well as development of skill and knowledge.

Please see below for our History Policy and the tabs on the right for the content of the history curriculum.