Bishops Lydeard Church School 
History
History Curriculum Intent — Bishops Lydeard Church School
Our intent is that every pupil “lives life in all its fullness” through a rich, ambitious history curriculum rooted in our values of Respect, Endurance and Friendship (John 10:10). History at Bishops Lydeard gives pupils the knowledge, vocabulary and disciplinary habits they need to make sense of the past, think like historians and confidently communicate their learning. The curriculum is sequenced so pupils remember more, build cumulative knowledge and make clear progress from Reception through KS2.
History Curriculum Design
We design history around a clear year-by-year progression derived from the National Curriculum. That progression sets out the substantive knowledge (chronology, key events, people and places) and disciplinary skills (historical enquiry, using sources, making connections, constructing explanations) pupils must learn and revisit. Content choices focus on a small set of core knowledge for each unit so pupils have secure starting points for future learning.
Teaching uses focused case studies (individuals, communities, local places or episodes) to make abstract ideas concrete and memorable. Case studies are used deliberately to link learning across years and to situate knowledge in time and space by referencing key people and places in the world at the time. Oracy is built into lessons using our school framework: structured talk (paired reasoning, small-group debate, evidence-led explanation) is used to deepen thinking, surface misunderstandings and develop pupils’ ability to construct and communicate historical arguments.
Lessons are sequenced to revisit core knowledge through retrieval practice, modelling and progressively demanding encounters rather than one-off activities. Because pupils’ existing knowledge shapes what they can learn next, each unit identifies prior knowledge required and includes short induction or pre-teach work where necessary so younger or new pupils are not left behind.
National Curriculum Expectations
Reception: develop chronological language, recounting and sequencing of personal and familiar events, and basic vocabulary that prepares children for KS1 topics (local history, farming, family histories etc.). Reception planning includes explicit vocabulary and simple knowledge organisers to give children secure foundations.
-
KS1: build awareness of the past using words and phrases about time; learn about significant people and events (changes within living memory and events beyond living memory); begin to use simple sources and answer basic historical questions.
-
LKS2: broaden chronological knowledge of local, British and world history; use a wider range of sources; begin to understand cause and consequence and make connections across periods.
-
UKS2: secure coherent chronological narratives across periods and places; analyse and evaluate sources, compare interpretations and construct sustained, evidence-based explanations in preparation for secondary school.
(Our long-term plan maps these expectations into explicit Reception–KS2 links so transitions are deliberate and sequenced.)
Inclusive Curriculum — ensuring access for all
Quality first teaching is the default. We plan universal scaffolds and flexible adaptations so every pupil can access the same ambitious curriculum: simplified knowledge organisers, layered vocabulary, visual timelines, labelled maps, sentence stems for talk and writing, mixed-attainment partner work and targeted pre-teach sessions. Formative assessment and curriculum checkpoints identify barriers quickly; interventions are short, specific and designed to return pupils to independent historical thinking. For pupils with SEND, those receiving pupil premium and for new arrivals (high mobility), we use small-step sequencing, multi-sensory activities and rapid induction units so adaptations remove barriers without lowering expectations.