History
History at Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre
Our role as teachers is to support our children in understanding what chronology is, to recognise significant people and events in past and present Britain and beyond, who have contributed to life as we know it today. We aim to secure this learning through introducing picture timelines, short videos and other suitable media. Our goal is to ignite critical thinking and hopefully inspire them to become advocates of change for the future and the wider world.
Intent
We aim to develop children’s appreciation for history and how it has shaped the world we live in today. Children develop a secure understanding of what history means in their own lives, the lives of others and in their local and wider community.
Implementation
The history curriculum at our school makes full use of resources within the immediate and wider local area, enabling children to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the history of their locality. Cross-curricular outcomes in history are specifically planned for, with strong links between the history curriculum and literacy lessons which enables further contextual learning. In KS1, the Historical skills focus on the world around them, their living memory and events that happened long ago but are still important today. All learning starts by revisiting prior knowledge. Staff explicitly model the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow children to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. We have a focus on black history throughout, but especially so during October, which is Black History Month.
Black History Month Gallery
Black History
Black History at Chapel End Infant School
Chapel End is, located in a diverse and growing community. It is, therefore, important to integrate our mixed heritage into our learning. Over the years, we have done our best to develop curiosity and a passion for learning about our great country and those who have paved the way for us. We want our children to be proud of their heritage and to see true representation within their learning environment, black British history being no different.
We have made sure children have been exposed and taught about those significant British black figures who have contributed to both national and international achievements past and present. Figures such as Mary Seacole, Claudia Jones, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Floella Benjamin, Walter Tull, Marcus Rashford to name but a few. We have also made sure to include black arts and literature into the curriculum. For example, African Adire printing and poetry by Benjamin Zephaniah.
It must be noted that black history at Chapel End is not just an October celebration, but something we embrace as part of our continuous learning. For Black History Month this year, the children were exposed to a plethora of activities including the arts and music, celebrating our differences throughout.
In week one, they were introduced to the special celebration by concentrating on what black history is and what it means to them. In week two, children learnt about a chosen individual during their history and literacy lessons. Week three is usually dedicated to black arts, where they created beautiful masterpieces, from carnival headpieces to African Adire print-making. To wrap up our festivities, Seneke from Mbilla Arts held a spectacular drumming workshop and assembly for the entire school.
National Curriculum
Click here to view the Key Stage 1 Programme of Study for History.
More Information
The Historical Association https://www.history.org.uk
BBC Learning (KS1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zkqmhyc
BBC History https://www.bb
Museum of London https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london
Natural History Museum https://www.nhm.ac.uk
British Museum https://www.britishmuseum.org