History Intent

History is held in high regard at Pinner Wood School. The school’s own rich history, within the context of the local area, is a celebrated and inspiring feature of the school. The history curriculum at Pinner Wood draws from and makes full use of the immediate and wider local area, enabling children to develop a deep understanding of the rich history of their locality.​

In line with the national curriculum 2014, the curriculum at Pinner Wood aims to ensure that all pupils:​

• Gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world which helps to stimulate pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past;​

• Are encouraged to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement;​

• Begin to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

Progression in History

Topics are informed by the national curriculum and are sensitive to children’s interests, as well as the context of the local area. The history curriculum at Pinner Wood is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to previous learning and that the school’s approaches are informed by current pedagogy. ​

History is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning. The key knowledge and skills that children acquire and develop throughout each block have been mapped to ensure progression between year groups throughout the school. At the beginning of each new history topic, teachers refer to classroom timelines to develop children’s understanding of chronology. Each topic is introduced with reference to the chronology of previous topics (including those from previous years).​

History at Pinner Wood is taught through key questions and a project learning approach. Children are presented with an overarching key question for a topic. This will be launched though a ‘stunning start’ to immerse children in the topic content and get them thirsty to learn more.​

Each subsequent lesson starts with a sub-question through which children will develop their knowledge and skills. The finale will be a ‘show stopping’ ending where the children create a piece that brings together their knowledge of the unit in a ‘real-life’ purposeful way.

History Inclusivity and Wider Opportunities

History provides the source of a wealth of extra opportunities for the children at Pinner Wood. Each year multiple trips and workshops are offered to enhance the learning of the History curriculum.

These include transforming the classroom into an Egyptian tomb and visiting museums in London, recreating the Great Fire of London, visiting the seaside, theme days, dress up day and children immersing themselves in different periods of time - History at Pinner Wood is an exciting subject to learn.

For more information on trips, please see a child's journey through Pinner Wood here.