History

At Kew Woods, we are dedicated to developing children’s curiosity and knowledge of the past through teaching an appreciation of history and how it continues to shape our world. At Kew Woods, we firmly believe that there is more to history than simply knowing times and dates! As historians, within each period we study, we conduct an historical investigation that aims to develop historical skills of questioning, enquiring, observing and interpreting, organising and communicating findings, drawing conclusions and identifying cause and effect.

We begin our historical journey into the past in EYFS learning about the history of us, engaging with our own life experiences and that of our close relatives. Throughout Key Stage 1, we develop our understanding of the history of the world through changes within living memory, learning about significant individuals and events from the past that have contributed to national and international achievements. Throughout Key Stage 2, we develop our understanding that history is the science of locating historical events in time as we begin our journey with how Britain changed from the Stone Age to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England. We continue to secure and extend children’s chronological knowledge and their understanding of British, local and world history as we learn about the societies of Ancient Civilisations with an in-depth study into the lives of the Ancient Egyptians and the Greeks

We implement a knowledge-rich curriculum that has been developed to be inclusive to our children, tailored to emphasise to rich local history of Southport and Liverpool. We believe that local history is a powerful vehicle for supporting pupils in understanding that their locality and people just like them have a link to national and global history therefore we aim to teach this throughout each key stage. In Key Stage 1, children are taught the history of Southport during the Victorian Era, looking at seaside entertainment, transport and leisure through a range of primary sources. In Key Stage 2, pupils extend their local knowledge to the history of Liverpool where we begin our study by visiting Liverpool, attending local museums, visiting landmarks and taking part in workshops. In Upper Key Stage 2, we further extend our knowledge beyond our locality, focusing on a comparison between Victorian and modern-day London with pupils experiencing history first hand with a trip to London visiting key historical landmarks and pen pals in our linked school Hawthorns Primary in Wokingham. In Year 6, pupils end their primary historical journey by conducting a child-led investigation into the history of Kew Woods Primary School. After taking part in chronology walks around the local area, conducting meetings with family members and local people of interest, obtaining and analysing historical documents and surveys, pupils will communicate historically by presenting their findings to their peers. Studying history is crucial in helping us understand how events in the past have shaped our current life and at Kew Woods we are committed to providing pupils with high-quality history lessons that will inspire them to think analytically about questions of the past.