St Peter & St Paul CE VA Primary School

At St Peter and St Paul CE (VA) Primary School history is a valued subject within our curriculum.  Teachers plan experiences which foster children's fascination with the past, develop their chronological understanding and equip them with the skills to investigate.  We recognise learning from the past is a fundamental way in which a society transmits its cultural heritage from one generation to the next.  History allows children to develop an appreciation of what went before as well as how they can learn from historical events.

History is taught in every year group through Creative Themes which are cross-curricular and designed to engage and develop curiosity. Teachers also make the most of incidental learning opportunities and the interests of children.  The curriculum allows children to develop their historical knowledge including:

• Substantive knowledge – Key facts relating to people, places and historical vocabulary etc.
• Disciplinary knowledge – knowledge about how historians investigate the past and how they construct historical claims, arguments and accounts.
• First order historical concepts – knowledge of more abstract historical terms, including hierarchy, invasion and public health. These are revisited in different contexts as children move up through the school.

The history curriculum also provides children with opportunities to develop and practise historical skills. These skills are: chronological skills; interpretation of history; historical enquiry/using evidence and communicating about the past.  Skills are repeated throughout the year and progress as children move up through school.

Learning is enriched and made memorable through a range of activities, visits and visitors, where possible making use of the school’s locality and local expertise.  These experiences are often organised as a hook to spark children's interest.  For example, our Year 3 children have the opportunity to learn from expert historians at Bexhill Museum where they have a chance to handle and explore primary sources from the Stone Age. Infant children are enthused by a 'Dinosaur Dig' in Year 1 and a real 'Fire of London' experience in Year 2.

We mark historical milestones as we believe this is an important part of children's learning.  To mark the World War I centenary, every child made a poppy for our 'Corridor of Remembrance' and they were inspired by the stories of veterans who visited us. We also marked Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee with a special school event. All the children investigated the Queen’s life through a timeline activity, took part in a Jubilee parade and sang songs associated with the Queen’s reign.

To see an overview of our history curriculum and the progression of knowledge, skills and vocabularly within it click here. To see our History Policy click here.

Year 3 enjoyed a trip to Kent Life where they took part in different workshops which included: Evacuee Experience, Home Guard training, RAF Navigation, Rag Rug making and ARP Experience.

Year 3 visited Bexhill Museum to handle World War II artefacts and learn all about Bexhill during the war.  Year 6 visited to handle and learn about Egyptian artefacts.