At Danson, we have worked hard to make history an exciting and inspiring curriculum area. We aim to inspire the children through immersive lessons and give them a curiosity and fascination about the past and how it has shaped life today. We also aim to give them a sense of identity and understanding of their place in time. As our pupils progress as Historians, they will become equipped to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We want 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.

We teach history through our Creative Curriculum topics throughout the school, ensuring that we get to embed the learning fully through a broad and balanced curriculum.

To teach history effectively, we look to teach and implement key historical skills throughout the topics. These skills cover the vital knowledge and understanding that the children need as they develop their historical perceptions. The skills are divided into three sub areas:

Chronological understanding– This ensures the children understand that history is the study of the past and it makes sure that children are able to sequence events in date order. Children will also be taught the key dates of influential and important events from the period they are studying.

Knowledge and understanding of historical events, people and changes- This focuses on the in-depth knowledge of a period in history. The children will learn about the different ways of life, be able to describe key events and examine the cause and effect of people’s actions within a particular period. They will identify differences and similarities across and within the different periods of history they study. They will also look at this in relation to the local area we live in and gain an understanding of how the past has shaped life today.

Historical enquiry, organisation and communication – Children will analyse the way the past is represented through different sources and assess the usefulness of these sources. They will be introduced to and use of evidence from a variety of sources to build up a picture of the past. The children will make deductions using both primary and secondary historical sources.

They will also be given opportunities to research using information provided, the internet and a library of information texts for secondary information. They will also have opportunities to compare sources of information too to find the most accurate. Children at Danson are encouraged to present information they have researched using a variety of techniques such as drama, role play, models and diagrams, word processing, writing for a range of purposes and presentations.

In Key Stage 1 we cover:

• Changes in students’ lives through ‘Houses and Homes’
• Changes in students’ lives through ‘The History of Transport’
• Changes in students’ lives through ‘The History of  Toys’
• Significant Individuals through ‘Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole’
• Events beyond living memory through’ The Great Fire of London’ and ‘Shackleton’s journey to Antarctica’. 

In Key Stage 2 we cover:

• Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
• The Roman Empire and, more specifically, their impact on Britain.
• The invasion of the Irish Scots following the Romans leaving Britain and the settlement of the Anglo Saxons and rise in Christianity in Britain.
• The Vikings and Anglo-Saxon struggle and their differences in beliefs up to the time of Edward the Confessor.
• A chronological unit beyond 1066 focussing on the Tudors and the monarchy system in Britain.
• A chronological unit beyond 1066 focussing on the Victorians and the rise of the British Empire and an immersive experience of life in Victorian times locally at Horton Kirby and the changes in industry and school life.
• The achievements of the earliest civilisations by looking at an overview of some of the early civilisations in the world with a depth study of the Ancient Egyptians.
• A study of a non-European society which contrasts with British history through a study of the Maya c AD900.
• A study of The Ancient Greeks, their achievements and their influence on the western world.
• A local history study examining Welling by studying the impact of WW2 on Britain and then at a local level.