History
Vision
At St Wilfrid’s we ignite children’s curiosity about the past, equipping them to think like historians: questioning, investigating evidence and making connections across time. Guided by our Christian vision of growth and wisdom, they explore local, British and global history to understand change, diversity and their place in the world.
Intent
At St Wilfrid’s, our History curriculum is designed to spark curiosity and nurture analytical thinkers with a secure and growing understanding of our local, national and global past. We want our pupils to feel confident to question, interpret and evaluate historical evidence, and to form their own informed explanations. As they explore significant events, periods and people, children will begin to recognise how societies evolve over time. Through these studies, they will develop insight into the complexity of human experience, the diversity of communities and how different groups interact – which supports empathy, perspective-taking and an appreciation of the many factors that shape human behaviour.
We ensure pupils build a strong sense of chronology so they can make connections across eras and create a coherent understanding of the past. They learn how historians investigate, represent and debate history - and we support them in conducting their own historical enquiries. To ready them for future study, we introduce key substantive concepts such as power, invasion, settlement, migration, empire, civilisation, religion, trade, human achievement, society and culture.
Our curriculum aligns with the expectations of the National Curriculum. In the EYFS, children begin through the Understanding the World area of learning, building the foundations that will support their transition into Key Stage 1.
Implementation
At St Wilfrid’s, the History curriculum is thoughtfully structured around two interwoven strands: substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge. The substantive strand covers topic-specific content, chronological awareness and the core historical concepts; the disciplinary strand focusses on how historians work - enquiry, evidence, interpretation and debate. These strands run through all units so that pupils learn history as practising historians.
Every unit embeds a clear chronological focus: pupils will situate themselves in time, draw links across civilisations and global contexts, and deepen their understanding of how the past connects with the present.
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EYFS: children reflect on their own past and stories of historical figures, grounding their learning in the personal and familiar.
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Key Stage 1: pupils begin to develop a mental timeline.
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Key Stage 2: this timeline is extended and refined, enabling pupils to identify patterns, contrasts and long-term developments.
We adopt an enquiry-based model: units are built around a central historical question, which guides pupils through the cycle of questioning, investigating evidence, interpreting findings, evaluating perspectives and communicating conclusions. Through this, they meet the disciplinary concepts of change and continuity, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, significance, and interpretations of evidence.
We introduce substantive concepts (such as power, trade, invasion, settlement, civilisation) early on and revisit them via a spiral curriculum so pupils’ understanding becomes richer and more sophisticated. Lessons are varied, evidence-rich and hands-on, and we provide clear guidance for differentiation so that all pupils are supported and challenged. Knowledge organisers enable recall of key facts and develop subject-specific vocabulary. To ensure consistency and rigour, teacher subject knowledge is emphasised by detailed unit guidance highlighting key content, links to prior learning, and common misconceptions.
Impact
We monitor the impact of our History curriculum through a blend of formative and summative assessment: end-of-unit quizzes, skill checks and retrieval practices. As a result, pupils at St Wilfrid’s develop into enquiring, critical thinkers who can analyse evidence, make informed judgments and construct historical arguments. They gain knowledge of Britain’s history, world civilisations, empires and key concepts such as power, migration and society.
By the end of each key stage, pupils are able to demonstrate secure chronological understanding, confidently use historical vocabulary, and apply disciplinary thinking to interpret and evaluate evidence. They meet the National Curriculum expectations and in the EYFS achieve the Early Learning Goals in Understanding the World. Our aim is that every child leaves St Wilfrid’s with a love of history, the skills to explore the past themselves and the confidence to understand the world around them.