History
PHILOSOPHY, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of History at Westwood is to study topics that stimulate student interest in the subject and which help them to learn lessons from the past and have a better understanding of the world they live in.
We believe History has a huge role to play in preparing young people for the future by informing them about our past experiences. Our principle aim in teaching History is to help students to understand the world they live in and prepare them for a lifetime of enjoying History.
We believe that History is a fascinating and fun subject and we aim to share our passion for the subject in the classroom
We also regard History as a very useful preparation for a range of careers and university courses and we try to reinforce this point as much as possible in the classroom. Whilst we aim to generate an interest and passion for the subject we also aim to ensure that students develop the key historical skills. We aim to provide frequent opportunities for students to develop their own communication skills through discussion and debate. The emphasis in all lessons is very much on students developing and sharing their own views, rather than the teacher dictating their own ideas from the front of the room. We do not write notes on the board for students to copy down and we do not get students to copy off power point. We see our role as ‘facilitators of student learning’. Students are required to think for themselves and our philosophy is that in History, there are very few ‘right’ answers – just
good arguments!
We have designed our curriculum to offer a comprehensive range of experiences and topics to meet the needs and interests of all pupils. It has been chosen to enhance students’ understanding of the world they live in and to hopefully give them a lifelong interest in the subject.
The Department aims to provide as much breadth as possible whilst at the same time, giving students an opportunity to study the relevant events and issues in sufficient depth.
Curriculum vision/intents
- Foster a love of History at all levels and appreciate its importance in understanding the nature of our own society and the wider world. We want students to share our own passion for the subject and to help them develop a life long interest in the subject.
- Develop an interest in their own family history and make links between this and the topics they study at Westwood.
- Challenge prejudice and discrimination and promote equal opportunities.
- Acquire knowledge and understanding of the selected periods and/or aspects of History, exploring the significance of historical events, people, changes and issues;
- Encourage students to develop empathy skills and the ability to listen to the views of others
- Use historical sources crucially in their context, recording significant information and reaching conclusions;
- Develop understanding of how the past has been represented and interpreted;
- Organise and communicate their knowledge and understanding of history;
- Draw conclusions and appreciate that historical judgements are liable to reassessment in the light of new or reinterpreted evidence.
- Lead to academic success. The curriculum is designed to encourage students of all abilities to make progress and inspire students to continue to study History beyond Key Stage 5.
Curriculum implementation
Years 9, 10 and 11
Our programmes of study for these year groups, is designed to allow all students to become more fluent and confident in applying historical skills and explaining key concepts, including cause and consequence, significance, change and continuity and typicality. In designing the
curriculum we have developed close liaison with our main feeder schools to ensure that we avoid repetition of content but build on skills and historical understanding.
In all years, the curriculum design is influenced by a commitment to ensuring that students are prepared for the skills required for the GCSE course. We are also committed to developing our students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. At the same time, we want to foster a real interest and enjoyment in the subject and encourage students to recognise the impact of historical events on their own families, both past and present.
Years 12 and 13
The curriculum has been designed to avoid any repetition of content from GCSE. It also ensures that students study a broad time period of history and British and non British topics.
The Personal study helps to promote independent skills which are an excellent preparation for the kind of assessment students will complete in Further Education.
Learning Journey
Learning Journey History Year 9