History
Why do we teach History?
At Buckingham Park Primary School, we provide a high quality history curriculum which inspires in children a curiosity and fascination about the world around them. We believe that high-quality history lessons should excite children to want to know more about the past, and to think and act as historians. By linking learning across a range of eras, children have opportunities to investigate and interpret the past, understand chronology, build an overview of Britain’s past, as well as that of the wider world, and to be able to communicate historically.
Shoreham by Sea has a wealth of local history, such as:
- The town and port of New Shoreham was established by the Norman conquerors towards the end of the 11th century
- The port was once the leading south coast harbour and, in the early 13th century, became both a borough and a royal port designated by King John
- Shoreham airport is the oldest licensed commercial airfield in the country
- Old Shoreham dates back to pre-Roman times
- St Nicolas' Church, inland by the River Adur, was first founded by the Anglo-Saxons
- The name of the town has an Old English origin
Our curriculum has been carefully selected to support the huge amount of history within Shoreham-by-Sea. It is important for the children to be immersed in their local history, uncovering the stories that shape where they live, which can help them develop powerful historical skills and a strong sense of identity.
What do we teach?
Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in history and we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our history lessons. We believe in whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities.
In learning History, children will:
- have the opportunity to visit different places in the locality and beyond
- develop the skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation
- ask historical questions and create their own structured accounts, including narratives and analysis
- gain and use historical vocabulary
- gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts
- understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequences and use them to make connections
- have opportunities to present their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways (e.g. through art, ICT, models, writing in a range of styles and genre).
What will this look like?
The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at Buckingham Park are equipped with historical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in the wider world. We want to ensure that the children know more, remember more, and understand more about History.
They will recognise and use the key skills of:
- chronological understanding
- knowledge and understanding of events in the past
- historical interpretation
- historical enquiry
- organisation and communication.
To read the school's history policy, please click here.
