At The Churchill School, we believe history should inspire curiosity, deepen understanding and help children make sense of the world around them. Our history curriculum enables pupils to explore how people, events and civilisations have shaped Britain and the wider world, while understanding how the past continues to influence life today.

We want our pupils to think and work as historians by asking questions, investigating evidence, analysing sources and developing their own interpretations of the past. Through studying history, children develop important skills such as critical thinking, discussion, empathy and perspective, while also building secure chronological knowledge and understanding.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and disciplinary thinking build progressively from EYFS to Year 6. Children revisit and deepen key concepts including:

• chronology
• cause and consequence
• significance
• similarity and difference
• historical enquiry
• sources and artefacts

Our curriculum reflects both local history and the wider world. Pupils learn about significant local figures and places such as:

• Walter Tull and his connection to Folkestone
• the history of Dover
• RAF Hawkinge and the Battle of Britain
• local Roman history

Alongside this, children study a rich range of British and world history including:

• the Stone Age to Iron Age
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Greece
• the Shang Dynasty
• the Kingdom of Benin
• the Roman Empire
• Anglo-Saxons and Vikings
• monarchy and power
• slavery and colonisation
• World War II

We are committed to ensuring that our curriculum reflects diversity, representation and global history. Pupils learn about a wide range of significant individuals including:

• Rosa Parks
• Emmeline Pankhurst
• Walter Tull
• Mary Anning
• Anne Frank
• Fu Hao
• Boudicca

Our history curriculum supports our whole-school vision of developing:

'Champions in play and leaders in life.'

Through learning about leadership, resilience, conflict, equality, civilisation and change, pupils develop a deeper understanding of society and their place within it.

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Implementation

History is taught through carefully planned and sequenced units which build knowledge progressively across year groups. Each unit is centred around an overarching enquiry question which clearly defines the curriculum intent and provides a consistent thread throughout learning.

Examples of overarching questions include:

• How did life in Britain change from the Stone Age to the Iron Age?
• Why did some dynasties in ancient China succeed and others fail?
• How did the Roman Empire change Britain and the way people lived?
• Why did the Second World War happen, and how did it change life in Britain and beyond?

These enquiry questions encourage pupils to think deeply, make connections and develop historical understanding over time.

Our curriculum is built around six key disciplinary strands:

• Chronology
• Sources and Artefacts
• Historical Enquiry
• Compare and Contrast
• Cause and Consequence
• Historical Significance

These threads are revisited throughout the curriculum so pupils continuously strengthen and deepen their historical thinking.

Our bespoke knowledge organisers play a central role in supporting learning and long-term retention. Each organiser includes:

• the overarching enquiry question
• key knowledge facts
• ambitious subject-specific vocabulary
• “Ask Me About…” retrieval questions
• “What I Remember” sections linking to prior learning
• visuals and diagrams used consistently within lessons

Knowledge organisers support pupils in revisiting and retaining the most important knowledge from each unit while helping teachers maintain consistency across the curriculum.

Lessons regularly include:

• retrieval practice
• timeline work
• source analysis
• artefact investigation
• debate and discussion
• historical writing
• interpretation and evaluation of evidence

Pupils engage with a wide range of historical sources including:

• photographs
• artefacts
• maps
• diaries
• oral histories
• archaeological evidence
• artwork
• primary and secondary sources

Enrichment and First-Hand Experiences

Educational visits and first-hand experiences are carefully planned to enrich and deepen historical understanding across the curriculum.

Where possible, pupils engage directly with:

• historical artefacts
• museums
• historical sites
• local history
• workshops
• visitors and experts

These experiences help bring history to life, strengthen long-term memory and allow pupils to make meaningful connections between classroom learning and the real world.

Examples across the curriculum include:

• Folkestone Museum Victorian workshops
• Anglo-Saxon workshops at Folkestone Museum
• Dover Castle visits linked to monarchy and wartime Britain

• Dover Roman Museum visits linked to Roman Britain

• Tenterden Steam Railway Wartime Evacuation Experience

• RAF Hawkinge and Battle of Britain studies

• Kent Battle of Britain Museum visits
• local history walks and investigations
• artefact handling experiences

These opportunities support pupils in developing historical curiosity, asking questions, analysing evidence and understanding how historians investigate the past.

Our local context is an important part of our curriculum design, helping pupils understand how national and global history connects to their own community and locality.

Vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited to ensure pupils can confidently communicate historical understanding using accurate subject-specific language.

Children regularly revisit prior learning to strengthen retention and make meaningful historical connections across topics and year groups.

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Impact

By the end of Year 6, pupils leave The Churchill School with a secure and connected understanding of British, local and world history. They are able to:

• place historical periods and events chronologically
• explain causes and consequences of significant events
• identify similarities, differences and change over time
• evaluate evidence and historical sources critically
• explain why events and individuals are historically significant
• communicate historical understanding confidently using accurate vocabulary

Pupils demonstrate curiosity, critical thinking and increasing independence as historians. They are able to discuss and debate historical ideas thoughtfully, using evidence to justify their opinions.

The impact of our curriculum can be seen through:

• pupils’ strong historical vocabulary
• confident use of chronology and timelines
• high-quality discussion and written outcomes
• pupils making connections across units and year groups
• secure retrieval of key knowledge over time
• enthusiastic engagement in history learning

Children develop an appreciation of how history has shaped the modern world and gain a deeper understanding of diversity, society, conflict and human achievement across time.

Our pupils leave The Churchill School not only with historical knowledge, but with the curiosity, confidence and critical thinking skills needed to continue exploring the world around them.