Our History Vision and Intent
At St Margaret’s C of E Primary School, we aim to inspire curiosity about the past and develop children’s understanding of how people, events and civilisations have shaped the world we live in today. Our ambitious and inclusive History curriculum enables all children to develop secure historical knowledge, chronological understanding and the skills needed to think and work as historians.
Through carefully sequenced learning from EYFS to Year 6, children build upon their prior knowledge and develop increasingly sophisticated historical thinking. Each unit identifies the essential knowledge, vocabulary and historical concepts pupils need to understand and remember, with regular opportunities to revisit, retrieve and apply their learning in new contexts.
Chronology is our golden thread, connecting learning across the curriculum and enabling children to develop a coherent understanding of the past. As they progress through school, pupils make increasingly meaningful connections between people, events and civilisations across different historical periods. They learn to ask thoughtful historical questions, investigate and evaluate evidence, recognise change and continuity, consider different interpretations and communicate their understanding using increasingly precise historical vocabulary.
Our History curriculum reflects our school vision: “With God’s help we: Flourish in all we do; Achieve whatever we set our minds to; Believe we are all unique and valued.” Through exploring Britain’s rich history and significant aspects of world history, children develop respect, openness and an appreciation of different societies, cultures and beliefs.
Our ambition is for every child to leave St Margaret’s as a curious, knowledgeable and reflective historian, equipped with the confidence to question the past, make connections with the present and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.
How We Teach History – Implementation
Sequenced knowledge: Learning builds on prior understanding, with key concepts and vocabulary revisited throughout school.
Chronology: Our golden thread: children use timelines to place events and periods in context and make connections across history.
Historical enquiry: Children investigate artefacts, photographs, accounts and other sources, ask questions and use evidence to explain ideas.
Retrieval and sticky knowledge: Teachers identify essential knowledge and provide regular opportunities to recall and apply it.
Inclusive teaching: Visuals, modelling, vocabulary support, practical resources and flexible recording methods support access while maintaining ambition.
Assessment: Teachers use discussion, questioning, retrieval, enquiry outcomes, timelines, source analysis and written explanations to check understanding.
Our Four Curriculum Threads
Chronology – our golden thread From recognising past and present in EYFS to explaining connections, overlaps and developments between historical periods in Year 6.
Monarchy: Understanding important leaders and rulers, and the influence of monarchy, leadership and government.
Culture and Beliefs: Comparing everyday life, traditions and beliefs across communities, civilisations and periods.
Thinking Like a Historian: Questioning sources, exploring evidence, interpreting accounts and building increasingly well-reasoned conclusions.
What Children Learn
Our enquiries provide a coherent journey through local, British and world history. The full 2026–27 History long-term overview is available below.
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Reception |
Families, celebrations, Town Street in the past, travel and games across generations. |
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Year 1 |
Changes in toys; monarchs; making history. |
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Year 2 |
The history of flight; explorers; the Great Fire of London. |
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Year 3 |
People who changed history; Stone Age to Iron Age; Ancient Egyptians. |
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Year 4 |
Romans in Britain and their legacy; Anglo-Saxons; Vikings; Maya civilisation. |
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Year 5 |
Victorian life; Ancient Greeks; Tudors and their impact on Yorkshire. |
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Year 6 |
First World War; Second World War and British people; Windrush generation. |
At St Margaret's, we recognise the importance of helping children understand the history of their own community. Through opportunities to explore the history of Horsforth, Leeds and Yorkshire, pupils develop a sense of place and belonging while discovering how local events, people and developments connect with Britain's wider history.
From exploring changes to Town Street in Reception to investigating the impact of the Tudors on Yorkshire in Year 5, children develop an appreciation of the historical significance of the places around them.
At St Margaret’s, we believe that every child can succeed in History. Our curriculum is ambitious and inclusive for all pupils, including children with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those who may experience additional barriers to learning. We are committed to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to develop secure historical knowledge, think critically and experience success as a historian.
Teachers use their understanding of pupils’ individual starting points and needs to provide high-quality adaptive teaching, removing barriers to learning while maintaining high expectations and the ambition of the curriculum. Support is carefully tailored and may include visual timelines, explicit vocabulary teaching, practical resources, adult modelling, structured discussion, scaffolding and alternative ways for children to demonstrate their understanding.
Through these approaches, all children are supported to access the same essential historical knowledge and concepts, participate meaningfully in historical enquiry and develop their confidence and independence over time.
Our approach is to adapt the support, not lower the ambition, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to flourish, achieve and develop as a confident young historian.
Assessment and Impact
We want pupils to know more, remember more and develop increasingly sophisticated historical thinking. By the end of Year 6, children should understand significant people, events and periods in British and world history; use chronology to make connections; investigate and evaluate evidence; explain change, continuity, cause, consequence and significance; and communicate informed interpretations using appropriate vocabulary.
Teachers assess learning through questions, discussions, retrieval, enquiry tasks, source work and pupils’ responses. Curriculum leaders review planning, books, pupil voice and classroom practice to identify strengths and next steps.
The following documents provide an overview of how History is taught and developed at St Margaret’s C of E Primary School. History Long-Term Overview: Shows the historical topics and enquiry questions taught in each year group, from EYFS to Year 6. History Skills Progression: Explains how children's historical knowledge, understanding and skills develop progressively as they move through school. History Curriculum Threads: Outlines the four key themes that connect our History curriculum: Monarchy, Culture and Beliefs, Thinking Like a Historian and Chronology, our golden thread. Together, these documents demonstrate how our carefully sequenced curriculum helps children build on previous learning, develop historical curiosity and become confident young historians.