Curriculum overview for Key Stage 3 History

National Curriculum programme of study: History
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c66d740f0b626628abcdd/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_History.pdf

Curriculum intent – the knowledge, understanding and skills that students will learn
History is a subject that forms the bedrock of our understanding of the society in which we live,  as well as the wider world around us. The purpose of the study of history is to develop students’ sense of identity: enabling them to understand their place in the world, determine how and why the world and society has changed and assess the different experiences of a variety of groups of people in the past. By doing this, students will develop a tolerance and a world view that will provide a foundation not just for their historical study but also for their wider lives. We ensure that students finish their Key Stage 3 curriculum with a broad knowledge of local, national and worldwide events of historical significance. Through the History curriculum, students will develop key historical skills: they will be able to make judgements on what has caused past events that have shaped our world; chart the changes that have taken place in our world throughout history, and will determine to what extent things have stayed the same. Throughout their curriculum journey, students will be constantly developing criteria to assess the significance of events and people. A key focus of the curriculum will be the use of evidence to support their judgements.

Curriculum implementation – teaching, learning and assessment strategies
Our History curriculum ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year, and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all students. It is important that our students develop the skills of a historian throughout their time at Blackfen School and do not just learn a series of facts about the past. In History, students use historical evidence to develop a sense of the time being studied, they weigh it up and reach their own conclusions. To be successful historians, our students will hone their skills to be able to confidently research, interpret evidence and reach substantiated judgements. Throughout Key Stage 3, students will develop the ability to think critically about history and communicate confidently in an appropriate style. They will also consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate and accurate evidence derived from a range of sources. 

Curriculum impact – intended outcomes for students 
Here at Blackfen we want to create Historians, not just students who study History. Students will develop their interest in and enthusiasm for History and gain an understanding of its value and significance. During their study of Key Stage 3 History, students will acquire an understanding of the nature of historical study, for example that history is concerned with judgements based on available evidence and that historical judgements can change depending on the society of the time. They will develop their use and understanding of historical terms, concepts and skills. Students will be able to make links and draw comparisons within, as well as across different periods and aspects of the past. They will be able to organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways, arguing a case and reaching substantiated judgements.

Assessment overview for Key Stage 3 History
In Key Stage 3, we assess students’ progress in History by using the second order concepts of evidential understanding, causation, change and continuity, significance and interpretation. These are the threads that weave together our curriculum. Common tasks that are used in lessons are source annotations, “PEE(L)” paragraphs and judgement lines. A variety of homework tasks are set such as research projects, reading ahead for lessons, summary paragraphs and memorisation quizzes.

Year 7
Evidential understanding: Students focus on making inferences from a range of sources to determine what life was like in the past. They supporting their inference using specific evidence from the source.
Causation: Students describe a range of causes and say which are the most significant
Change and continuity: Students describe several changes or differences by comparing life at different times in detail. They sum up their overall impact and say which are the most significant.
Interpretation: Students describe the views given in different interpretations and begin to test the validity of the view by applying their own contextual knowledge.

Year 8
Evidential understanding: Students explain inferences from sources using details from the source. They support inferences using their own contextual knowledge. They explain the provenance of the sources and how this affects the utility of the source.
Causation: Students explain the key causes of an event and their consequences in detail. They judge which of the causes are the most significant.
Change and continuity: Students explain and categorise similarities and differences by comparing life at different times for different people. They weigh up their impact on life, beliefs or ideas to say why some changes were more important than others.
Interpretation: Students describe different interpretations in detail and compare their views. They use detailed contextual knowledge to explain how valid the view is in the interpretation and judge which interpretation is the strongest. 

Year 9 
Evidential understanding: Students explain inferences, the impact of a source’s provenance and select which source or source type is the most useful to use when judging a historical enquiry.
Causation: Students explain and group causes/consequences in detail. They make links between causes/consequences to judge why some are more significant than others.
Change and continuity: Students explain and group similarities and differences by comparing in detail life at different times for different people. Students judge the significance of changes by measuring how big an impact they had on different people at different times.
Interpretation: Students explain the reasons for differences and similarities in a range of interpretations based on the values and context of the time in which they were created. They apply a clear criterion in their judgement of which interpretation they agree with.

In addition to on-going formative assessment based on classroom and home learning, summative assessment of students’ progress in Key Stage 3 History takes place in line with whole-school arrangements for assessment. Please see the Curriculum and Assessment policy on the Curriculum website page for further details about Key Stage 3 formal assessment.