Intent
Our goal is for the study of history to ignite children’s curiosity about the past - in Britain and the wider world. Through finding out about how and why the world, different countries, cultures and communities have developed over time, our children understand how the past influences the present. History enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity and a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. At Rayleigh Primary School, our intent, when teaching history, is to stimulate the children’s curiosity in order for them to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.

Implementation
History is held in high regard at Rayleigh Primary School. Our curriculum is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to, and builds upon, previous learning and that enquiry skills are progressively taught in order to develop curiosity within our pupils and provide them with the skills needed to conduct historical enquiry. Children are encouraged to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh-up evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgment. We challenge our students to view events from different perspectives, leading to greater empathy and understanding of events and situations. 

The history curriculum at Rayleigh makes full use of resources within the immediate and wider local area, enabling children to develop a deep understanding of the rich history of their locality which we celebrate through links with our local museum and historic town. 

Impact:

By the end of KS2, our pupils will have developed:

A secure knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from the historical periods covered.
The ability to think critically about history and historical events.
The ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detail, appropriate and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.
The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past, forming and refining questions and lines of enquiry.
A passion for history, a curiosity about the past and an understanding of how and why people interpret the past in different ways.
A respect for historical evidence and the ability to make robust and critical use of it to support their explanations and judgements.