History
History at Tetsworth Primary School
Intent
At Tetsworth Primary School, our ambitious and inclusive History curriculum enables pupils to develop a deep understanding of the past and how it has shaped the world they live in today. We aim to spark curiosity, inspire critical thinking, and help pupils make meaningful connections between historical events, people, and societies.
As a mixed-aged school, we follow a stage-not-age approach, ensuring that all pupils access learning at the right level for their development. This allows every child — regardless of age or ability — to experience success, challenge, and progression within an ambitious and engaging curriculum.
Through the Cornerstones Curriculum, we provide a rich, well-sequenced programme that aligns fully with the National Curriculum. Our intent is to ensure pupils gain a coherent understanding of British and world history, learning to ask perceptive questions, think critically, and evaluate evidence. We want every child to leave Tetsworth Primary School with a strong sense of identity, an appreciation of diversity, and the ability to understand change over time.
Implementation
Our History curriculum is delivered through the Cornerstones Curriculum, which ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum and provides clear progression of knowledge, skills, and concepts across all year groups.
Teaching is carefully adapted for our mixed-aged classes, ensuring that pupils learn together through shared themes while working at a stage appropriate to their individual development. Each unit of work builds on previous learning, helping pupils to develop chronological understanding and make connections across different time periods and cultures.
History is taught through engaging, enquiry-based learning, where pupils investigate significant people, events, and civilisations. They use a range of sources — including artefacts, images, written evidence, and digital resources — to question, interpret, and evaluate the past.
We make strong cross-curricular links with subjects such as Geography, English, and Art, helping pupils to apply their historical understanding in broader contexts. Visits, workshops, and themed days enrich learning further, bringing history to life and allowing children to experience it first-hand.
Teachers emphasise key historical vocabulary and concepts, regularly revisiting these to secure deep understanding and long-term retention. Through this, pupils develop both substantive knowledge (facts, events, people) and disciplinary knowledge (how historians work and interpret evidence).
Impact
The impact of our History curriculum at Tetsworth Primary School is evident in the enthusiasm, knowledge, and critical thinking our pupils demonstrate. They develop curiosity about the past, empathy for people from different times and places, and a secure understanding of how history influences the present and future.
Our pupils:
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Develop strong chronological understanding, sequencing key events and recognising cause and consequence.
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Use historical enquiry skills to question, research, and analyse evidence.
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Understand how evidence is used to form interpretations and recognise that history can be viewed in different ways.
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Make meaningful connections between historical periods, themes, and cultures.
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Show curiosity, respect, and reflection, demonstrating an understanding of diversity, legacy, and human experience.
Through our ambitious, stage-not-age approach and the structured progression of the Cornerstones History Curriculum, pupils at Tetsworth Primary School leave with a secure knowledge of the past, the skills to think like historians, and the confidence to explore how history continues to shape our world today.