At Hillside Avenue, our History curriculum is based on United Curriculum and aims to promote a passion for the past and a curiosity that encourages children to engage enthusiastically in their historical learning. Through a coherent and chronological body of substantive knowledge, pupils will develop a thorough understanding of people, events and civilisations from a range of historical periods, gaining knowledge of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

Our History curriculum enables pupils to:

• Develop coherent and chronological knowledge of Britain’s past and the wider world, helping them understand how people, events and civilisations fit within a wider chronological framework.
• Explore key historical concepts, including:
  • Quest for knowledge – how people understand the world around them, what is believed and known, and how knowledge is developed, stored and shared.
  • Power, empire and democracy – who holds power, how it is gained and exercised, and how people’s rights differ across historical contexts.
  • Community and family – what life is like for different people, including men, women and children, and how societies, families and communities are structured and change over time.
• See themselves reflected in the curriculum while also being taken beyond their own experiences through the study of a diverse range of civilisations, societies and historical experiences, including the positive and negative experiences of ethnic minorities throughout British history.
• Develop confidence as historians by asking and answering historically valid questions, exploring what caused events to happen, why people acted as they did and how the past can be interpreted in different ways.
• Use and evaluate historical sources to support lines of enquiry, considering their usefulness and reliability when reaching evidence-based conclusions.
• Think critically and respectfully, formulating their own viewpoints while listening to, discussing and appropriately challenging the interpretations and views of others.
• Communicate their historical understanding effectively using appropriate subject-specific vocabulary and a range of spoken and written forms.
• Develop a strong understanding of chronology, recognising connections, similarities and differences between periods, people and events across history.
• Develop a connection with their local area through the study of significant people, places and events, recognising Norwich as a city of historical importance and understanding the contribution local people have made in shaping history.

Ultimately, we aim to inspire an excitement for History and develop confident, curious and critical young historians who are eager to discover more about the past.