Intent

We provide an ambitious, knowledge-rich history curriculum designed to nurture a deep curiosity about Britain’s past and the wider world. Through a focus on resilience and aspiration, we empower pupils to master complex historical concepts. Our curriculum is intentionally sequenced to ensure pupils build substantive knowledge and disciplinary skills (how historians work), ensuring all learners, including those with SEND, can grow together.

Our curriculum ensures learning is revisited and embedded in long-term memory. We leverage our unique local context to build a sense of belonging and kindness towards our community’s heritage. Inclusion is at the heart of our intent; we adapt our ambitious goals to ensure every child—regardless of starting point—develops a sophisticated chronological map of the past.

Implementation

History is taught through a rigorous, progressive framework where high-quality modelling and scaffolding ensure inclusive access for all. We prioritise the development of historical vocabulary and the use of primary sources to build critical thinking. Our pedagogical approach is informed by cognitive science, using retrieval practice to help children link new themes to prior learning.

Driven by our value of aspiration, we use fieldwork to make history tangible. In the EYFS, we nurture the foundations of historical enquiry through the 'Understanding the World' strand, fostering a sense of time and place. To ensure inclusion, teachers use adaptive teaching strategies, allowing every child to demonstrate resilience when tackling challenging enquiries. By Year 6, pupils possess a robust chronological narrative of British and world history, enabling them to draw insightful comparisons to their own lives.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is evidenced by pupils who can "think like historians." We measure success not just through high-quality work in books, but through the resilience pupils show when weighing evidence and sifting arguments. Our learners become articulate, kind, and well-rounded citizens who can ask perceptive questions and think critically about the world they inherit.

We ensure that knowledge "sticks"; pupils can confidently recall key events and explain their significance over time. Every child leaves Clyst St Mary with the aspiration to pursue lifelong learning and a profound understanding of how the past has shaped their present identity.