Welcome to our History page!

History Intent Statement

Historians construct their knowledge and picture of the past through a critical engagement with a range of sources. They understand that all knowledge is contested and that every source and interpretation has an inherent bias, and that it is through - and as a result of this understanding - that the picture of the past that they develop is a tapestry produced from an interwoven web of evidence and broader contextual understanding. It is for this reason that at Swansfield Park Primary School, we understand that historical context is crucial to an understanding of the past. And it is for the same reason that our history curriculum combines both substantive knowledge of the historical events, people and groups studied, and the disciplinary knowledge that allows historians to engage with sources and interpretations to establish their view of the past. It is therefore our intent that children will, throughout their journey as young historians, be armed with the skills to form their own opinions and make reasoned judgements about events and people in the past. To do so, children are taught to develop their critical analysis skills and ask questions. Meanwhile, to further understand the historical context, children place their own lives and the lives of people they learn about on an increasingly complex timeline. And, in doing so, they develop an understanding of how these events are linked and what common threads can be identified in human societies in the time periods studied. By understanding the formation, structure and study of human societies, it provides our children with a broader context to use their disciplinary knowledge to ask questions and frame an understanding about periods they may learn about in the next stage of their education. Furthermore, our intent is also to provide our children with the foundational disciplinary knowledge to support lifelong learning, being able to ask and answer increasingly complex questions in increasingly complex situations; and being able to navigate an increasingly complex world in which the nature of ‘truth’ is contested.