History
At St Christopher’s Primary School, we follow the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) for History, which is knowledge-rich, carefully specified, and taught to be remembered. Our curriculum enables children to build a chronologically secure understanding of local, British, and world history, integrating substantive knowledge of events, figures, and dates with core historical concepts.
Our History Curriculum:
- Substantive & Disciplinary Knowledge: Children learn substantive concepts (such as empire, monarchy, and civil war) alongside disciplinary concepts (including evidence, causation, significance, and historical interpretation).
- Chronological Progression: Units are sequenced largely chronologically to form a continuous narrative of British and world history. By understanding what came before—such as the growth of European empires—pupils gain the background needed to understand the causes and consequences of major global events like World War I.
- Concepts over Time: Key historical themes are revisited across year groups to deepen understanding. For example, pupils explore the concept of monarchy starting in Key Stage 1, building their knowledge through the reigns of significant monarchs (such as Henry II, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I) and examining the shift from autocratic rule to a modern constitutional monarchy.
- Historical Enquiry: Children discover how the past is constructed and debated. Starting with basic sources in early years, pupils progress to asking perceptive questions, analysing complex primary and secondary sources, and understanding how historians construct historical perspectives.
- Local, British, and World History: Alongside British and local studies, pupils explore ancient civilisations, the expansion and dissolution of global empires, and major global events—including units on the British Empire and the Transatlantic Slave Trade—to understand how Britain influenced, and was influenced by, the wider world.
Through this rich framework, we support children in thinking critically, connecting historical events across time, and understanding humankind's achievements and historical impact.
