Our History Subject Manual contains a detailed overview of our curriculum.

At Sidegate, we are historians! History at Sidegate fires pupils’ curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. We want our children to engage with and develop a love for history. History allows children to delve deeper into the past and understand how culture, daily life and the different civilisations differ from that of our modern twenty-first-century world. History encourages children to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement. By considering how people lived in the past, our pupils develop an understanding of their own personal history and those of other people and communities. This understanding is key to helping them to make well-informed future life choices.

Underpinning the aims of our history curriculum are our curriculum drivers. Through history, children develop their knowledge of the world by exploring the similarities and differences between British culture and other world cultures from ancient to modern times. History at Sidegate means that our children study artefacts, find evidence, analyse it and reach their own conclusions.  Through carefully planned opportunities to present their research and conclusions, including debating and presenting information about the past, pupils develop communication skills. Pupils are expected to communicate using historical language and topic-specific vocabulary to clearly communicate their findings, thoughts and opinions which have been developed independently.  They learn to research, sift through evidence and argue from their point of view, which develops their creativity. Pupils develop an awareness of the past by considering the events in their own lifetime; their own family history and identity and the processes of change. As they progress, they begin to establish links and connections between British, local and world history and learn to ask questions about change, cause, similarity, difference and significance. 

The teaching of history encourages enquiry, investigation and questioning skills in order to present  opinions, thoughts and findings without bias. History develops pupils’ understanding of their community - enabling them to reflect upon their own beliefs and the opinions of others, and promotes a sense of curiosity about their own heritage. Historical enquiry encourages children to think analytically and to question evidence, building their resilience and impacting positively on their well being. Pupils are given many opportunities to develop their understanding of the subject by engaging with real-life experiences, both inside and outside of school, including educational visits, educational visitors, using real-life artefacts, enquiry and discovery. These experiences deepen children’s understanding of the world around them whilst driving ambition and developing aspiration.