History
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At Hemyock Primary School, our History curriculum is thoughtfully structured using the Ventrus Knowledge Entitlement (VKE) documents. These documents clearly outline the declarative (factual) and procedural (skills-based) knowledge that pupils are expected to acquire at each stage of their education.
Our curriculum is designed to develop pupils into critical and analytical thinkers, enabling them to make meaningful connections between historical content and the wider community, including our local context. Through carefully sequenced learning, pupils are taught to:
- Differentiate between various types of historical sources,
- Understand how and why interpretations of history may differ,
- Identify similarities and differences across time periods, and
- Draw connections between current topics and previously studied historical content.
This approach ensures that our pupils not only gain a strong foundation in historical knowledge but also develop the skills necessary to engage thoughtfully with the past.
We implement our History curriculum through a workbook-based approach, ensuring that every pupil has access to a rich, rigorous, and knowledge-led curriculum. This method supports the principles of cognitive science by reducing cognitive load and enabling pupils to focus on the core knowledge and skills being taught.
Our bespoke workbooks are carefully designed to promote long-term retention and retrieval. They provide regular opportunities for pupils to revisit prior learning, reinforcing key concepts and supporting the development of a secure and connected understanding of historical knowledge. Retrieval practice is embedded throughout, enabling pupils to strengthen memory, make links across topics, and deepen their historical thinking over time.