History

At Prendergast Primary School, we aim to inspire children’s curiosity in learning about the past through creative and cross-curricular approaches. Children are immersed in history topics in weekly lessons as well as engaging in workshops from visitors, attending off-site educational trips and participating in outdoor learning. These varied opportunities enable them to develop a well-rounded and deeper understanding of the historical periods they are studying.

The history curriculum is designed with the intent of reflecting the multicultural nature of our school, and as a result, the history we teach is broad, diverse and relevant to the children. Through our curriculum, we endeavour to highlight and explore alternative narratives in different historical contexts, as we believe it is important for the children to learn about a variety of perspectives and experiences throughout history. Furthermore, we encourage children to recognise that past events affect the future, and that by learning from the past, it can help them to understand and shape the world in which they live today.

The planning and teaching of history lessons at Prendergast is informed by both skill progression and acquisition of knowledge. We believe children should be active investigators of the past and this is nurtured through the development of their historical enquiry skills, which encourage them to: ask perceptive questions; think critically; weigh evidence; analyse sources; sift arguments; and develop perspective and judgement. During the children’s learning journey, their chronological knowledge and understanding is developed over the years, and they are able to construct narratives around the historical events, periods, and people they learn about.