History Curriculum

Curriculum Intent – Content and Structure

The intended outcomes of what we teach:

We are committed to providing a History curriculum which enables students to understand where they have come from and what has already happened, so that they are equipped with the tools needed to change what happens next. History will provide students with the skills of historical enquiry so that they are able to confidently explore the past. We understand that history is a discipline that is not just about the past, but also offers us invaluable insights to the present. We are committed to making History relevant, stimulating and exciting, to bring our subject alive.

At Wren Academy we use historical enquiries in order to frame students’ understanding of the past. Over a series of topics, students enquire into a historical big question and gather evidence in order to address this question by the end of the unit. Our Key Stage 3 (KS3) curriculum is designed to ensure core historical concepts are taught, such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance. By the end of KS3 students should have a solid chronological understanding of British History, whilst also enquiring into elements of world history too. At Key Stage 4 and 5 (KS4 and KS5) we build on the skills acquired at KS3 with a diverse and interesting History GCSE and A Level curriculum. Our aim is that students are life-long learners of History.

Curriculum Implementation

Curriculum Content and Sequence

Years 7 and 8

Autumn	Spring	Summer
Content in Year 7 and 8 is taught as a combined course with History. Please see the Humanities Curriculum intent for further details.

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Content in Year 7 and 8 is taught as a combined course with History.

Please see the Humanities Curriculum intent for further details.

Year 9

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Were the soldiers of the First World War ‘lions led by donkeys’?

Key Skill: Interpretations

Why have there been different interpretations about female suffrage?

Key Skill: Interpretations

What were the most significant turning points of the Second World War?

Key Skills: Significance

How and why did the Holocaust happen?

Key Skills: Causation and Consequence

Why has the legacy of the British Empire been so destructive?

Key Skill: Interpretations

What has the Black British experience been like in the 20^th Century?

Key Skills:

Utility of Sources

Year 10

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Thematic Study: GCSE Warfare Through Time c.1250-Present

Historic Environment: London and the Second World War, 1939-45

Depth Study: Elizabethan England

Start: Superpower Relations and the Cold War

Year 11

Autumn	Spring	Summer
Superpower Relations and the Cold War	The USA: Conflict and Tension at Home and Abroad	The USA: Conflict and Tension at Home and Abroad Revision.

Year 12

Autumn

Spring

Summer

British Empire

Germany: Democracy and Nazism

British Empire

Germany: Democracy and Nazism

British Empire

Germany: Democracy and Nazism

NEA

Year 13

Autumn

Spring

Summer

British Empire

Germany: Democracy and Nazism

NEA

British Empire

Germany: Democracy and Nazism

Revision and Exams

The Rationale for the Content and Sequence of what we Teach

Year	Why we Teach this Content and how the Content and Sequence of Topics Benefits our Students.
Year 7	History is taught chronologically at Year 7-9 because pedagogically it helps students develop their understanding. Learning also starts with British history before developing understanding at a more international level. We start with the Norman Conquest because it is a key foundation for British History and equips students with the core skill of causation. ‘Medieval Monarchs’ explores the role of power and agency, exploring what renders a monarch successful. We take an international approach here, considering both British and global monarchs. Finally, we consider two seismic events in medieval history: the Peasants’ Revolt and the Black Death, both of which have important contemporary parallels. Forging a connection with our local history, we conduct an enquiry on the Battle of Barnet.
Year 8	The Tudors’ ‘religious rollercoaster’ is taught as the first history topic in Year 8 because it allows for an exploration of change and continuity over time, a key concept for GCSE . It also explores the creation of the Church of England (wider curriculum links to Year 8 and to GCSE). We have a source-specific focus on Elizabeth I, in order to develop foundational knowledge for GCSE. The French and English revolutions are taught comparatively, exploring the origins of our contemporary democracy and the challenges of power. We then consider the consider the historical implications of the operation of the Transatlantic slavery. We aim to consider the origins of the slave trade and explore resistance and rebellion to consider why slavery was eventually abolished. Industrial Britain charts the development of Britain as an industrial superpower and how its economic dominance links with imperialism and slavery. We pay particular focus to elements of the Industrial Revolution that are often not considered e.g. social history, Chartism and the Peterloo massacre. We use Hailie Rubenhold’s ‘The Five’ to frame a historical enquiry looking at the victims of Jack the Ripper, ensuring our curriculum is grounded in academic texts and that students’ read historians’ work at KS3. Finally, we complete a thematic mini enquiry exploring the issue of similarity and difference in the history of immigration in the UK. This is to ensure our curriculum represents the community we serve as well as reflecting the most up to date history pedagogy.
Year 9	We start our study of WWI, introducing students to the notion of divergent historical interpretations.. Our study of the war itself explores the origins of this war, why and how it was fought and how it came to an end. We explore the debate as to whether the soldiers of the First World War were ‘lions led by donkeys’ (Clark). We then consider how there have been different interpretations of the issue of female suffrage, considering the role of suffragettes in creating their own historical narrative. In our second term, we consider the significant impact of the Second World War, reviewing a number of key turning points, including the Blitz and the dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945. We then crucially explore the issue of how and why the Holocaust happened, so that students understand why this genocide occurred and the role of History in the future prevention of such events. In our final term, we explore the legacy of the British Empire. We then use sources to explore the experience of Black British citizens of the UK in the 20^th Century.
Year 10	The GCSE course starts with a breadth unit, establishing a sense of chronology that carries through the course. This allows students to be able to place their subsequent units in a chronological framework. The study of warfare allows a sense of conceptual continuity from Year 9, broaching subject matter that can feel familiar, whilst the chronological spread of this topic mirrors learning at KS3. Our focus then moves into the specific case study of Elizabethan England, recalling what students remember about the time from their Warfare course. Students then spend time exploring the challenges Elizabeth faced as a female ruler, drawing on their knowledge from previous years, as well as understanding the impact of the choices she made on Britain as a whole.
Year 11	We move away from Britain in Year 11 and focus on Superpower Relations. This unit allows students to better understand the Cold War, having placed it in a warfare context of the past 1000 years in Year 10. For their final unit, students consider the role of USA as a nation of contrasts, how they promoted and championed civil rights over the course of the 1950s-1970s, alongside promoting and taking part in the war in Vietnam.
Year 12	The Year 12 British Empire course studies the rise of the Empire, considering the social, economic and political motivations behind the rise and considering the impact both at home and in the Empire. The course on Democracy and Nazism explores the challenges facing post-war Germany and encourages students not to see an inevitability in Hitler’s rise. We consider the multiple and complex factors that resulted in the collapse of democracy in Germany. Coursework is split between Years 12 and 13. Students conduct their own independent historical enquiries on topics of their choice, spanning a period of 100 years and addressing the core skill of change and continuity over time.
Year 13	The Year 13 Empire course explores the collapse of the Empire and the role of war, nationalist movements and wider social / political / economic forces. In the Year 13 Germany course, the Nazi consolidation of power and eventual defeat is considered.

Key Stage 4 (KS4) and Key Stage 5 (KS5) only:

What exam board/syllabus do you teach?

Why have you chosen this syllabus?

In what ways is it suited to your students?

At KS4:

Edexcel GCSE

The units offer the most sense of cohesion conceptually
The breadth study allows a good chronological focus while providing different content to previous coverage
The USA unit allows students to consider a topic they think they are familiar with but are able to see it in a new light
Exam questions are consistent throughout the different papers

At KS5:

AQA A Level

This exam board offer 3 units (others offer 4) allowing greater depth than A Level
The exam questions offer a sense of continuity and sequencing skills from the GCSE curriculum, especially with regards to source use and exploration of extracts
The coursework offers a good sense of freedom, allowing us to stretch students’ knowledge and capacity for individual thought.

Curriculum Implementation

The subject specific habits and behaviours we develop (or intend to develop) in our students

Subject Specific Habits and Behaviours

How we embed these in our students

Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and understanding to analyse and evaluate the key features related to the periods studied
Exploring core historical concepts of cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance.
Analyse and evaluate appropriate source material, primary and/or contemporary to the period, within its historical context.
Analyse and evaluate, in relation to the historical context, different ways in which aspects of the past have been interpreted.

Ensure that secure factual knowledge and understanding underpins our practice through providing detailed knowledge of the contents of the exam specification e.g. textbooks at KS4, ‘Core Notes’ at KS5.
An enquiry based curriculum designed to address these core concepts. Assessment questions specifically addressed at each of these skills.
Ensuring that a plethora of sources are provided to students in lessons, so that students build upon their skills of critical analysis and awareness.
Exposure to historical academic work throughout the curriculum, underpinning our content delivery.

Academy Ethos

Academy Curriculum Intent

How our department’s curriculum content and teaching approaches reflect the whole Academy ethos

A Curricular and Pastoral commitment to Micah 6v8: Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God

High Expectations of students’ behaviour for learning, learning progress, and respect for our community.

A commitment to make learning enjoyable, engaging, relevant and challenging.

A commitment to develop knowledge, skills and character.

Consistency and fairness in approach and routines.

Excellent and developing subject knowledge which inspires confidence in students.

Effective collaboration across all parts of the academy.

Highly skilled teaching which deepens understanding and stimulates curiosity.

A willingness to embrace research and innovation in order to enhance the learning potential of our students.

Recognising and rewarding effective use of learning habits as well as academic achievement.

Curriculum: The careful selection of topics which best allow the ability to explore these issues e.g. studying US civil rights at KS4.

Pastoral: Teachers and students in History classes model these expectations.

Use of praise and sanctions to ensure high expectations within History lessons are met. BehaviourWatch used to track instances where high expectations have not been met and suitable interventions implemented.

Well planned engaging lessons and home learning. A ‘fun factor’ built in to each overarching enquiry on the Scheme of Learning. A broad, rich and varied enrichment and trips programme.

A well-planned inquiry driven curriculum which develops life long learners.

Lesson routines underpin practice e.g. use of knowledge retrieval starters. Learning walks used to monitor this.

A continued commitment to utilise P and E time to expand on the subject knowledge of the department.

Working as much as we can on developing cross-curricular links e.g. building on students’ teaching of Civil Rights in R.S. at Year 9. Collaborating with Wren Enfield and the Primary School to ensure the best History provision across the academy trust.

A continued commitment to CPD and recruitment within the department. Learning walks used to guide and monitor practice.

Historical and pedagogical research shared at P and E and used to inform practice.

Continued use of praise systems on BehaviourWatch, postcards home and other rewards.

Implementation

Academy Ethos

Micah 6v8: Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God
	Curriculum Content Opportunities	Curriculum Delivery Opportunities
Justice	Year 7 Engaging with notions of a more just and inclusive curriculum, through for example a commitment to studying medieval monarchs from across the globe. Medieval society – Black Death and Peasants Revolt; Feudal system – diversity of experience Conflict over water sources and Israeli-Palestine Coastal defences – Happisburgh Norman Conquest – Harrying of the North – was William right to punish the North so severely? British Values – Geography of the UK Sequential teaching of History is inclusive – broader access to justice Year 8 Steps have been taken to ensure a more just and inclusive curriculum at Year 8 e.g. studying of Black Tudors, closer focus on social injustice in exploration of Industrial Revolution, a new unit on Britain’s migration story to be introduced. Mary I – individual justice – does she deserve her nickname? (Why do female monarchs get remembered differently to male monarchs/ held to different standards?) Tudors – individual liberty and right to practice religion Civil War – trial of Charles I – accountability; French Revolution – broader ideas of justice, freedom, liberation etc. Superpowers – conflict between Ukraine and Russia; soft power vs hard power Natural resources – global inequality and impact of global warming and water-security Slavery – why it was abolished – modern day values not imposed on the past. Utilising resources from ‘Justice to History’ Jack the Ripper – Addressing the historical imbalance in the presentation of Jack the Ripper’s victims by focusing our enquiry on the victims, using Hailie Rubenhold’s seminal revisionist work ‘The Five’. Year 9 WWI – who’s responsible for the outbreak of WWI? Was Haig Butcher of the Somme? Was Versailles fair? (How do we allocate blame? Is war ever an acceptable remedy to differences?) Exploring the issue of justice through a study of the journey towards female suffrage. WW2 – Was it right to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Holocaust - Nuremberg Trials; What did/does justice look like? Israel-Palestine Conflict: Teaching dual narratives – can there be a just approach to the History of this conflict? Can there be a just solution? Year 10 Warfare – is war ever just? Move away from chivalry? Shift in emphasis away from strength of arms Increasing importance of societal attitudes e.g. nuclear weapons and conscription Women – increasing role played Year 11 Civil Rights – challenges and obstacles to justice Vietnam – justice for whom? Formal rights vs informal change? Role of the Supreme Court – need for social agitation for a change in law to make an impact Elizabeth – religious settlement. How History remembers Drake Year 12 Germany – abdication caused by opposition to war, people’s agency, pushing democracy Founding of Weimar Constitution – democracy and justice for all but issues of democracy as well Warnings from History – lessons of resolving disputes through violence e.g. putsches and assassinations, rejection of ballot box ending in unjust society Rise of new women, agency The role of an impartial/independent judiciary – the role of the rule of law Empire- Injustices of Empire? Scramble for Africa- no representation of regional groups. Reform after nationalists uprisings/ tensions- Post-Mutiny reforms. How are people remembered? – Easter Rising 1916 Year 13 Denial of sovereignty. Do we give the credit to nationalist groups? Gandhi?	Balanced arguments in essay writing Class debates – opportunities for discussion Speech writing/ persuasive writing Research – students broaden their knowledge to understand wider issues of justice
Kindness	Year 7 Lack of kindness – challenges faced by monarchs when unpopular decisions are made e.g. Harrying of the North. Can there be kinder approaches to monarchy e.g. Magna Carta? Year 8 Lack of kindness – challenges faced by monarchs when unpopular decisions are made e.g. Marian burnings Natural resources – kindness to our planet vs Industrial Britain Superpowers – cooperation between powers Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement – was this a kind solution? Economic Activity and Slavery – exploitation (sweatshops and the Middle Passage) Abolition of slavery. Year 9 Considering ways in which, even during the darkest times in History, people can find ways to be kind/resist, in teaching of for example The First World War (Christmas Truce) and resistance to the Nazis. Year 10 Was kindness or pragmatism at the heart of Elizabeth’s religious settlement? Year 11 Lack of kindness and intolerance to different groups e.g. Black Americans in the 1950s, and what might be done to effectively combat this. Year 12 Germany - Suing for peace Role of public pressure Establishment of a kinder, more tolerant society, more reflective of society, PR. System designed to bring people from margins into centre (in theory) Groups like Organisation Consul being the antithesis of kindness Empire- Individuals who bring western benefits to the indigenous peoples (missionaries) e.g. Slessor, Carpenter and Carmichael. Year 13 Historical consequences of lack of kindness, through teaching of Nazi dictatorship.	Empathy Inclusive of backgrounds/ability Building knowledge of inequality Team work – work in variety of pairings/groups Creating a culture where students are unafraid to get things wrong By building a knowledge of other countries/cultures, we build greater tolerance and understanding of other values
Humility	Year 7 Consideration of nature of life as a peasant in medieval England – lack of material possessions The power of medieval monarchs an underlying theme e.g. did Richard II show humility during the Peasants Revolt? Year 8 Actions of monarchs – Elizabeth learning from past Tudors’ mistakes; Charles I’s lack of humility Superpowers – lack of humility leading to tension; increasing use of soft power and cultural (positive?) attributes Year 9 Israel-Palestine Conflict: Can coming to such a heated and controversial topic from a position of humility help forge a peaceful solution? GCSE Humility of Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King in their continued quest to seek justice. KS5 Germany – Examining culpability and war guilt, differentiating between those who can be open-minded and accept some responsibility versus those who refuse to confront past and past mistakes. War guilt as an imposition (Article 231) not as an attempt to move forward Coalitions being prepared to compromise Employers and employees being willing to compromise, industrial relations versus confrontation Empire- The role of Gladstone+ nationalist- revenge is an unworthy emotion.	Exposed to the concept of multiple correct views – there is not always one correct answer – the humility to view other arguments as valid, e.g. Parallel Histories approach to teaching Israel / Palestine conflict.

Please click here to access the full History curriculum document.

History Curriculum