History

Intent 

At Aston Fields Middle School, we aim to ensure our pupils receive a high-quality history education that will inspire their curiosity to know more about the past. Our curriculum, for all years, has been carefully designed in order to achieve this and much more. Through the study of history, at Aston Fields Middle School, pupils will develop both their substantive and disciplinary knowledge. They will know and remember more about Britain’s past and that of the wider world through a combination of breadth and depth studies. Each topic will deepen pupils’ knowledge of several types of history including cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history. Our pupils will also be able to do more by writing about the past using historical concepts such as similarity and difference, cause, and consequence, change and continuity and significance. Additionally, pupils will learn how to analyse historical sources in order to make valid claims about the past and determine arguments made within historical interpretations. Enquiry questions are another vital focal point of the teaching of History at Aston Fields Middle School, each topic will culminate with pupils answering an enquiry question, centred around a key historical concept once they have gained the relevant historical knowledge to be able to do so.

Our curriculum, for all year groups, has also been designed to ensure coverage of the national curriculum for history which aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristics of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
• Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’.
• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
• Understand methods of enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short and long-term timescales.

Implementation

Pupils at Aston Fields Middle School receive an hour of timetabled History lessons each week, both in KS2 and KS3. We have thought carefully about how pupils learn and make good progress in History and recognise that developing both substantive and disciplinary knowledge is vitally important. Therefore, each topic has been planned and is delivered by teachers using the following model:

We have carefully mapped out how pupils make progress in both of these areas of history over the course of their four years at our school. A link to what this progression looks like can be found at the bottom of this page.

KS2

Year 5

In Year 5 pupils begin by learning about History as a discipline. During their first half term, pupils learn about History as a discipline to ensure that they are prepared for the rest of their time at the school. They then progress to learn about the Life from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, the Shang Dynasty, and Ancient Greece. This carefully builds on historical knowledge developed within our feeder schools.

Year 6

In Year 6, pupils continue to build their knowledge of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Pupils learn about the Kingdom of Benin, Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggles for the Kingdom of England, the Industrial Revolution and the Second World War By learning about these topics’ pupils develop knowledge and understanding of the earliest history to the very recent. Furthermore, the topics selected builds on the learning completed in Year 5 and prepares pupils for KS3.

KS3

Year 7

In Year 7 pupils develop knowledge of medieval and early modern British history through their study of the Norman Conquest, the Black Death, and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In addition to this, pupils finish the year by learning about the Slave Trade to further develop their knowledge of world history. Through their learning, pupils learn about significant changes that have occurred in Britain, the cause and consequence of major events and the significance of important individuals.

Year 8

In Year 8 pupils begin to develop a more sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the past. The topics selected require pupils to possess a mature and respectful attitude and help pupils to develop their empathy towards others. Pupils learn about the English Civil War, the French Revolution, Women’s Suffrage, and the American Civil Rights Movement. Pupils develop a strong understanding of the links and connections between many of these topics, as well as how their impacts can still be seen in the world, we live in today

Reading

As a school of reading, we place a high emphasis on providing pupils with a wide range of opportunities to read, and the study of history at Aston Fields Middle School fully supports this. In lessons, pupils will read a wide range of texts including information sheets, biographies, historical sources, and interpretations. Pupils are always introduced to key terms which help them to fully understand the texts they read and strategies to support those who struggle with reading are often deployed within lessons.

Extra-curricular Opportunities

Whilst we are committed to providing high-quality history teaching in the classroom at Aston Fields Middle School, we also recognise that pupils learn even more when provided with extra-curricular opportunities. As a result, we regularly organise opportunities to visit local historical sites including Worcester Cathedral and the Black Country Living Museum. In addition to this, we also organise history workshops to take place within school which have covered topics such as World War Two and Black History Month. These opportunities are always highly enjoyed by pupils and help to raise the cultural capital for more disadvantaged learners.

Character

History lessons are frequently used to promote good character at Aston Fields Middle School. In addition to teaching the curriculum set out within this page, we also use lessons to cover a range of significant topics such as Black History Month, Remembrance, Holocaust Memorial Day and International Women’s Day. Commemorating these events provide pupils with an opportunity to reflect on the mistakes and celebrate the successes of the past, teaching good character for the future. Furthermore, within the curriculum, the lives of many significant individuals are taught to pupils. Pupils learn about what made each individual significant and can draw inspiration from the many character virtues they demonstrated.

Impact

Progress

The teaching and learning of history at Aston Fields Middle School enable our pupils to make a greater sense of the world around them and possess the skills to be successful both in their next stage of education and in life after school. Throughout the course of each term, year and key stage, pupils make excellent progress with their substantive and disciplinary knowledge, allowing pupils to know more, remember more and be able to do more. They have the ability to interpret and understand historical sources and interpretations within their given historical context and can think critically about why a source was made, when it was made and why a particular individual may provide a certain viewpoint about the past. This skill allows our pupils to think more carefully about different points of view in the modern world and gives them the ability to form opinions which they support with evidence. Pupils consistently perform well in History and Year 8 report data at the end of the 2023/24 academic year revealed that the majority of pupils were working at age related expectations in the subject.

Year 8 Report Data (Summer Term 2023/24)

Pupil Voice

Whilst we are always delighted by the academic achievements of pupils at Aston Fields Middle School, their views are also vitally important to us. Pupil voice opportunities are conducted at several points throughout the school year which help us to reflect upon and improve the history curriculum. At the end of the 2023/24 academic year, pupils in Year 8 gave their views about the history curriculum, with = pupils saying that:

“History is my favourite subject. I have learnt a lot about lots of different topics over my four years at the school.”

“I like how History links closely with English. The inference skills I have developed can be used effectively in both these lessons.”

“My favourite part about History is when we look at historical sources. It can be challenging to work out the message a source is trying to put across, but teachers always help to ensure we can work it out.”

“I know that I have made good progress in History because of the feedback I get from my teacher. They provide praise but also give me extra things to think about.”

“I wasn’t that keen on History before I came to Aston Fields Middle School. However, I have enjoyed the subject more and more each year and now I am really considering choosing it as one of my GCSE’s.”

We hope that you have found this page informative. At Aston Fields Middle School, we encourage independent learning. Should you wish to begin to know more about the history topics we cover, please use this useful website to begin your research.

https://www.history.co.uk/