At Shinfield St Mary’s, the impact of quality first teaching in history fosters a love and enthusiasm for the subject.

We aim that children make outstanding progress over time from their own starting points and that teachers endeavour to clearly know and assess what children have learnt, including securely, and what might need to be reviewed or re-taught as they progress. History assessment is ongoing and informs teachers with their lesson planning and with the differentiation required. Summative assessment is completed at the end of each history topic, against a range of key outcomes.

The impact of our history curriculum can be measured in a variety of ways – questioning during lesson time by teachers, marking of children’s written and illustrated work, listening to child-led discussions, informally talking to children about their learning, as well as looking at topic books and classroom displays.

Through the progression built into our history curriculum, we aim for our children to leave Shinfield St Mary’s Junior School in Year 6 with inquiring minds who are excited and curious about local and world history. Our successful and engaging history curriculum will encourage our children to become enthusiastic historians who feel confident in their understanding of the past, its impact on the present and how history can shape the future.