Curriculum
History and L4L
In L4L, themes are designed to empower students to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of the past, both of Britain and the wider world. Our competency structure and the content within our themes are designed to inspire students and equip them with vital life skills, including critical thinking, building perspective, evidence-based arguments and judgements whilst developing interest and curiosity.
Our curriculum enables students to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change as well as the diversity within society. This prepares our students to reflect on their own lives and the challenges they may face now in the present and in the future.
The Threads of Learning have been purposely designed and created to ensure themes have been placed in chronological order across KS3 to enforce chronology and Britain’s historical narrative.
Content and Skills
Throughout the L4L KS3 curriculum and our use of the Social and Environmental competencies, students explore key events in British, local and world history to entrench key historical skills such as chronology, cause and consequence, historical enquiry and analysis. Students understand how different sources and interpretations are used precisely to make evidence based historical arguments. The promotion of literacy and the use of key historical terminology allows students to communicate their knowledge in increasingly sophisticated ways.
Key Outputs and Assessments
In L4L, key competencies are identified by Heads of Department. These skills are essential to be developed throughout KS3 to ensure they success at Key Stage 4. As a result of this, the key competencies are assessed three times throughout an academic year (in the Autumn, Spring and Summer term) to ensure students are making progress and moving closer to mastering that skill.
Students are provided with colour-coded feedback sheets which provide a current working at grade and target for the next piece of work.
Below is an example of our competency assessment programme for History in Year 7, 8, and 9 which shows the key competencies and themes being assessed and revisited throughout the year:
| SE.HS.01 = Structuring, organising and deploying historical knowledge, using historical vocabulary. | SE.HS.02 = Making historical connections | ||||
| 1 India Indian Independence | 2 Freedom The Empire | 3 Over the Top Causes of the Great War | 1 India Road to Independence | 2 Freedom Never Ending Story…? | 3 Over the Top Causes of the Great War |
| SE.HS.02 = Making historical connections | SE.HS.03 = Using historical sources. | ||||
| 1 In Days of Old Magna Carta | 2 Silent Movies Life in early 20th Century USA | 3 Off With Your Head Who were the Tudors and Stuarts? | 1 JTTCOTE Pompeii Evidence | 2 In Days of Old Bayeux Tapestry | 3 Off With Your Head Tudor Kings |
SE.HS.02: Making historical connections | SE.HS.03: Using historical sources | SE.HS.05: Writing historical arguments | |||
1 America: Land of the Free First Americans | 2 Britain: A Living History Politics in Britain since 1945 | 1 Tragedy How dd the Nazis come to power? | 2 America: Land of the Free Settlements of the West
| 1 Tragedy The Holocaust | 2 Britain: A Living History The Cold War |
In addition to competency assessment, content knowledge is also assessed through end-of-theme tests to ensure students have retained key knowledge and understood historical concepts.
Key Stage 4
The study of History at GCSE level enables students to broaden and deepen their knowledge of the history of Britain and the wider world and subsequently make stronger connections between the past and its shaping of the present. It also aims to provide a stimulating and coherent study of History which is both broad and diverse. This allows a greater understanding of self as well as others which is imperative to becoming a well-rounded citizen.
