“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey
At Abingdon, we want children to understand that history is not simply a collection of dates, people and events. It is the story of human lives, choices, achievements, injustices, ideas and change — and it helps us understand the world we live in today.
Our history curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and shaped around the children and communities we serve. The National Curriculum provides the entitlement; we interpret and enrich it so that every child develops a secure chronological understanding, a rich historical vocabulary and the skills to investigate the past thoughtfully.
Understanding the past
Children develop a chronological framework that enables them to place significant events, people and periods within a wider narrative. They learn to identify connections, contrasts, continuity and change and to consider how and why societies developed as they did.
We deliberately build on prior learning so that knowledge becomes increasingly secure and meaningful. Children revisit important concepts and vocabulary, making connections between periods rather than experiencing history as a series of disconnected topics.
Through high-quality teaching, children learn to:
- ask historical questions;
- use and interpret different sources of evidence;
- distinguish between fact, interpretation and opinion;
- understand cause and consequence;
- identify change and continuity;
- compare different societies and periods;
- develop increasingly precise historical vocabulary; and
- construct and communicate their own historical explanations.
In doing so, children learn not only what happened, but how we know what happened and why interpretations of the past can differ.
Our history, our heritage
Inclusion is woven through our history curriculum.
Our children come from a wide range of cultures, countries, languages and family histories. We want every child to recognise that history is something they belong within, not something that happened only to other people, in other places.
Within the statutory curriculum, we deliberately look for opportunities for children to explore aspects of their own heritage and the heritage represented within our school community. Children are encouraged to share family knowledge, traditions, stories and experiences, helping us build a richer understanding of the past together.
At the same time, children encounter histories beyond their own experience. They learn about people and societies whose lives may initially feel very different from theirs and discover the connections, challenges and shared experiences that link us across time and place.
This gives children both mirrors and windows: opportunities to see aspects of their own identity represented and opportunities to understand lives beyond their own.
History and representation
The people children encounter through history matter.
We deliberately broaden children’s understanding of who has shaped the past and whose stories are remembered. Children encounter significant individuals and communities from different cultures, backgrounds and circumstances, including people whose contributions have sometimes been overlooked or underrepresented.
We teach history honestly. Children encounter achievement alongside conflict, inequality, discrimination and injustice. They are supported to ask difficult questions and to understand that the past can be viewed from different perspectives.
This contributes to our work around protected characteristics, helping children understand how identity, prejudice, discrimination, power and social change have affected people’s lives over time. It also helps children recognise that the rights and freedoms they experience today have developed through complex historical processes.
History, SMSC and personal development
History makes an important contribution to children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Spiritually, children reflect on human experience, identity, belief, legacy and the ways people have sought to make sense of their world.
Morally, they consider choices and consequences, justice and injustice, responsibility and the impact that decisions can have on individuals and communities.
Socially, they learn how societies are organised, how people respond to change and how collective action can influence events.
Culturally, they develop a deeper understanding of the traditions, ideas, achievements and experiences that have shaped our communities and the wider world.
History therefore supports our wider personal development curriculum by helping children understand not only where we have come from, but how the choices we make can shape what comes next.
History and the ARCH
History provides powerful opportunities for children to live our Abingdon ARCH:
- Aspirations – discovering what people have achieved and recognising that individuals can influence the world around them.
- Resilience – understanding how individuals and communities have responded to challenge, adversity and change.
- Harmony – developing empathy, respect and understanding for people whose lives, beliefs and experiences may differ from our own.
- Commitment – developing the curiosity and perseverance needed to investigate evidence carefully and build secure understanding.
History also strengthens children’s oracy. They learn to explain, justify, question, debate and listen — developing the confidence to communicate ideas thoughtfully and respectfully.
History that matters beyond the classroom
We want children to understand that history is relevant to their lives.
Local history, family histories, national events and global developments are connected. By exploring these connections, children begin to understand why communities look the way they do, why people hold particular traditions and beliefs, and how the past continues to influence the present.
We make use of the rich assets within our community and the wider locality so that history is not confined to textbooks. Visits, artefacts, local places, stories, oral histories and first-hand experiences help children encounter the past in meaningful ways.
This also strengthens Abingdon Armour for Life. Children develop skills that extend beyond the history classroom: asking questions, evaluating information, recognising bias, listening to different perspectives, forming reasoned conclusions and communicating confidently.
From knowing the past to shaping the future
Our ambition is for children to leave Abingdon with more than a secure knowledge of historical events. We want them to be curious, informed and thoughtful citizens who understand that the world they inherit has been shaped by the choices of those who came before them — and that their own choices will shape what comes next.
Our history curriculum helps children move from:
Knowledge → Understanding → Perspective → Empathy → Participation → Belonging → Flourishing → Thriving → Achieving.
We want every child to understand that their story matters, that other people’s stories matter, and that they have a place within the continuing story of our community, our country and our world.
History gives children roots in the past and the understanding they need to shape their future.
History Progression Document
Please find the link to the History programme of study https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study
