History - Curriculum Intent

At Oakbank we want to encourage our students to be curious, independent thinking historians of the future.  By providing a diverse, knowledge rich and accessible curriculum, that is consistently being reviewed, we aim to encourage a passion for history that will last throughout their learning journey and beyond.  Our students will leave us having developed the enabling skills of evidence based, critical and reflective thinking, the understanding of differing perspectives and the ability to form and communicate judgements.

We provide all students with a broad and balanced curriculum that is sequenced chronologically and underpinned by conceptual threads such as empire, revolution, and democracy, in order to embed secure knowledge of both British and World History.

Our enquiry-based topics adhere to and go beyond the National Curriculum to allow students to access the rich and diverse nature of the past; a wide range of topics covering studies in breadth and depth, both on a local, national, and global scale, avoids a narrow understanding of the past.  Students are encouraged to engage with historical concepts such as cause and consequence, similarity and difference, change and continuity, and significance in order to make sense of the diverse substantive knowledge within the curriculum. 

We enable all pupils to build and learn new knowledge and skills, thus consolidating their prior knowledge from previous years. By providing students with engaging lessons taught by skilled teachers, pupils will be inspired to discover more about the past, to debate and to ask perceptive questions.  An environment is fostered where students can learn from mistakes, identify misconceptions, and address gaps in knowledge.  Reading skills in History are developed through various types of texts and sources, allowing students to build confidence in using specialist terms and thus increasing the accessibility of more challenging material.  By honing these skills, we aim for our students to achieve the highest possible results in national tests.

Through the History curriculum, students are prepared for the next phase of their education or employment and for life in modern Britain. We are aspirational for the future of our students and ensure they understand that the academic skills they acquire whilst studying History are facilitating skills, applicable to many careers.  We signpost routes into relevant pathways, Further Education and Higher Education.

Diversity in our curriculum is celebrated to enable all students feel welcomed and valued in the classroom. History lessons will help pupils to understand the complexity and challenges of people’s lives, and the diversity of societies in the past in order that links can be made to the present.  History is cross curricular in nature and so sociological, geographical, cultural, philosophical and political aspects are threaded throughout the curriculum.  Opportunities that are offered beyond the classroom also enrich the experience of our learners.

Ultimately, we aspire for our Oakbank History students to feel part of a global community where they can establish an identity and be considerate and empathetic citizens.