History at Ordsall Primary School

At Ordsall Primary School, History is taught as a distinct subject that helps pupils understand the past, make sense of the present and develop perspective about the future.

We follow the National Curriculum for History, with a clear ambition that pupils leave Ordsall with secure historical knowledge, a strong sense of chronology and the ability to think critically about how the past is interpreted and represented.

Our History Curriculum

Our history curriculum is built around two forms of knowledge:

• Substantive knowledge – the key historical facts, events, periods, people and concepts pupils are taught and expected to remember

• Disciplinary knowledge – how pupils think and work as historians, including chronological awareness, historical enquiry and historical interpretation

Clear progression maps set out what pupils should know, do and understand in each year group. Learning is deliberately sequenced so that knowledge builds cumulatively from Early Years to Year 6, supporting secure long-term memory and increasing depth of understanding over time.

How History Is Taught: Our Lesson Design

Across the school, history lessons follow a shared lesson design that provides consistency for pupils while allowing teachers to respond flexibly to need.

Lessons typically include:

• Big Picture – pupils understand the historical period, enquiry or focus and why it matters

• Revisit – prior knowledge, vocabulary and chronology are revisited

• Teach – clear explanation, modelling and use of sources and evidence

• Learning Together – guided discussion, questioning and supported enquiry

• Independent Learning – pupils apply their understanding independently

• Reflect – pupils review what they have learned and how their thinking has developed

This structure supports strong understanding, purposeful enquiry and confident application of historical knowledge.

Thinking and Working Like Historians

Pupils are taught to think like historians through regular opportunities to:

• place events and periods securely within a chronological framework

• ask and refine historical questions

• use and evaluate historical sources

• explore cause and consequence, similarity and difference, continuity and change

• understand that the past can be interpreted in different ways

Historical vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited frequently so pupils can explain ideas clearly and accurately.

Inclusion and Impact

We are committed to ensuring that all pupils can access and succeed in history. Teaching is adapted to support individual needs without lowering expectations, and barriers to learning are proactively identified and removed.

The impact of our history curriculum is seen in pupils’ secure knowledge of key periods, confident use of historical language, ability to reason about the past and their growing understanding of how history shapes the world they live in.