History
Curriculum Overview
History is an academic subject rich in powerful knowledge. It provides coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. History helps learners 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.
Overall Intent
We aim to build on the foundations set in our student’s primary education to develop further student’s understanding of the study of History. Through their study of History at King Edward VI School, Lichfield our students should come to understand their place in the world, and in the long story of human development. The study of history challenges pupils to make sense of the striking similarities and vast differences in human experiences across time and place. It also asks them to consider how the past and changing accounts of the past have shaped the identities of diverse people, groups, and nations. It fits into our broader school vision of collaboration and aspiration as our curriculum ensures that students have the values and skills to enter a dialogue with the past to question how and why historical accounts have been constructed.
Implementation
Our curriculum fulfils our ambition by focusing on the experiences of various groups of people through time, allowing students to respect diversity of experience and use evidence to honestly construct accounts of the past. Our focus on the power and control exercised by the monarchy and the state as well as how that might impact subjects and citizens alike, affords students the opportunity to consider the issue of accountability in the past and the consequences of people’s decisions and actions. Moreover, our students are exposed to issues surrounding conflict and tolerance in relation to Britain’s association with the rest of the world, which allows our students to study people from the past who have shown tremendous resilience and who have acted with integrity in the face of adversity.
Our focus on the above themes demonstrates our ambition to our students to equip them with the skills and knowledge to question the past, illuminate the present and prepare them for the future.
The conceptual basis of our history curriculum revolves around substantive concepts, concerned with the subject matter of history as well as the core disciplinary concepts that shape the key questions that are asked and organise the study of the subject. Substantive concepts such as propaganda are first looked at in relation to portraits of Elizabeth I in our study of the Tudors in Year 7 and are revisited in our study of Empire in Year 8, before being studied again through our World War One enquiry and our focus on the Holocaust in Year 9. It is through revisiting substantive concepts in this way that we believe students will be able to properly interpret and find fluency in key abstract nouns that crop up again and again in history. The big picture of our curriculum then focuses on bringing students disciplinary knowledge together by using the second order concepts (causation, chronology, significance, interpretations, change and continuity and diversity) to shape our historical enquiries.
Enrichment
To further develop cultural capital in our students at King Edward VI School, Lichfield, History offers learners a range of experiences outside of the classroom environment. These opportunities are designed to enhance their understanding of the world around them. Experiences have included a trip to the Battlefields of France to complement their study of the First World War, as well as a visit to Auschwitz as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz educational programme, where learners explore the rich and powerful history of the Holocaust. Learners have also had the opportunity to visit the National Memorial Arboretum, RAF Cosford, and the Imperial War Museum North.
Impact
The impact of our curriculum is under constant review and development to ensure that it appropriately meets the needs of our children, supporting and challenging pupils to achieve their full potential. The success of our curriculum will be realised in our students knowing more and remembering more. Their conceptual understanding of first order concepts and their ability to critically apply disciplinary concepts will grow. Practically, this will be demonstrated in their assessment responses, work in their exercise books and ability to articulate what they have learnt.
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 4
Staff
The following members of staff form the history department at King Edwards:
| Staff Member | Job Title |
|---|---|
| Mrs L Gilmore | Acting Head of Department / Second in History |
| Mrs R Green | Teacher of History |
| Miss S Ingram | Teacher of History |
| Mr D Kelly | Achievement Leader (Year 9) |
| Mr R Larkin | Teacher of History |
