Humanities

Geography encourages children to learn through experience, particularly through practical and fieldwork activities. Topics within Geography are chosen to help optimize opportunities for outdoor learning and visits to local areas within the Northeast.

The strands in Geography are:

• Locational knowledge
• Place knowledge
• Human and physical geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

Each of these strands are embedded throughout each Geography topic, ensuring a clear progression from KS1 through to KS2.

National Curriculum Aim – Geography

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
• are competent in the geographical skills needed to: collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
• interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

History

At Eslington Primary school, History is taught with the intent of giving children a secure, chronological understanding of key events during British History, as outlined in the National Curriculum. Children will also cover several aspects of ‘World History’ which will help to broaden their own knowledge and experiences of other cultures. Wherever possible, teachers will help children to understand the impact that earlier civilisations have had on our local area in order to further develop children’s knowledge and sense of pride in Gateshead and the surrounding Northeast. There is a strong emphasis on children developing the skills they need to become independent, thoughtful and resilient historians. They will develop their skills in investigating sources of information and be able to form their own conclusions on a key date, event or figure as well as asking questions to further develop their understanding. Children will also be given the opportunities to present their learning in many different ways with cross-curricular links to Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.

The Strands in History are:

• Chronological awareness
• Historical enquiry and context
• Knowledge and understanding
• Organizing and communicating information learnt

Each strand is taught across each year group with a clear progression, building on these skills. They aim to further promote and develop a curiosity and fascination for the historical topics taught.

National Curriculum Aim – History

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.