Humanities
History
Children’s historical learning incorporates learning about the history of their local environment, community and the wider world. History is taught through a Topic based approach to encourage development of both enquiry skills and historical knowledge. Children are taught to become independent and evaluative thinkers who have empathy for how others lived. This develops an awareness, respect and curiosity for different cultures and societies and the past. Children learn how to ask questions, conduct their own research and work collaboratively and through the use of field work, trips and other experiences.
In KS1 history lessons, children are taught about:
- changes within living memory, usually involving a change in national life.
- events beyond living memory that are significant (for example the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight).
- the lives of significant individuals in the past (for example Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Guy Fawkes and Christopher Columbus).
- significant historical events, people and places in their own locality (for example Romans and the impact of the World Wars) .
Geography
Children’s learning in Geography has a clear learning journey across the whole school. Children learn about their local environment, community as well as the wider world. Geography is taught through topics that are inspiring and develop children’s natural curiosity. Children develop skills in recognising, describing, explaining, comparing and evaluating human and physical geographical elements with a high level of technical vocabulary being accurately used and applied. Children are taught to be independent and evaluative thinkers who have empathy for how others live to develop an awareness, respect and curiosity for different cultures and societies and the physical world around them. Children have the opportunity to ask questions, make links, allowing them to make sense of the world around them. They have opportunities to work collaboratively and through the use of field work, trips and other experiences.
In KS1 geography lessons, children are taught to:
- Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans.
- Name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas.
- Understand similarities and differences between life in different countries.
- Look at seasonal and daily weather patterns in the UK and compare them with hotter and colder countries.
- Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to physical features and human features.
- Use maps, atlases and globes.
- Use simple compass directions.
- Use aerial photos to recognise human and physical features.
- Devise a simple map.
- Use and construct basic symbols in a key.
- Study the geography of their school and its grounds.
Religious Education
Children learn about other religions through an ‘enquiry approach’. The enquiry approach makes RE exciting and engaging children.
The key question for the enquiry is such that it demands an answer that weighs up ‘evidence’ and reaches a conclusion based on this. This necessitates children using their subject knowledge and applying it to the enquiry question, rather than this knowledge being an end in itself. Discovery RE focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings, on growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development. Christianity is taught in every year group, with Christmas and Easter given fresh treatment every year, developing children’s learning in a progressive way. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are included and are taught systematically across the school.
