Our History Curriculum

Welcome to the History curriculum at Skegness Junior Academy, where we embark on a fascinating journey through time and explore the richness of human experience. Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on the study of people, spanning different eras, locations, and cultures. At the heart of our work, is the belief that understanding the past is crucial to shaping a well-rounded perspective on the present and future.

Pupils delve into the history of Britain and the wider world, igniting their curiosity and prompting thoughtful inquiries. As they navigate through historical narratives, children reflect on how the past continues to shape contemporary society, examining the organisational structures, political systems, beliefs, and cultures that have influenced human actions throughout history.

Our curriculum establishes a chronological framework, enabling students to grasp the significance of key events and individuals. This journey through time not only enhances their historical knowledge, but also promotes a deeper understanding of diversity in human experiences. Children discover more about themselves as individuals and as members of a broader society, influencing their personal choices, attitudes, and values.

In the study of history, pupils are actively involved in the process of historical investigation. They learn to find and analyse evidence, weigh its significance, and draw their own conclusions. These critical thinking and research skills are not only integral to historical understanding, but also highly valued in adult life.

Our local area is utilised to support the teaching of history. Skegness and the surrounding areas have a wealth of historical landmarks and opportunities, which are used to support the teaching of history and to enable children to see first-hand evidence of the past.

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

The knowledge of our History curriculum is broken down into 4 key strands:

1. Substantive Knowledge: historical terms, knowledge, cornerstone concepts, chronology and narrative
2. Disciplinary Knowledge: using evidence
3. Disciplinary Knowledge: cause and consequence
4. Disciplinary Knowledge: change and continuity

National Curriculum Programmes of Study: https://bit.ly/3gj1l3g 

Please also visit our Long Term Planning for all year groups in the files section on our main curriculum page.