National Curriculum 2008 Programme of Study KS3 Year 7 [11-12], year

8 [12-13], Year 9 [13-14]

Curriculum Aims
1) Successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve
2) Confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
3) Responsible citizens who make a contribution to society

The importance of history:

Fires pupil’s curiosity...inspiring them with dilemmas, choices and beliefs of

people in the past. It helps pupils develop ...identities thru’ understanding
history at personal, local, national and international levels. It helps them to ask
and answer questions by engaging w/ the past.

Pupils find out about the history of their community, GB, Europe and the
world...develop a chronological overview...enabling connection across diff.
periods and societies.

Pupils begin to ask and answer important questions, evaluate evidence, identify
and analyse, interpret...substantiate any arguments and judgements. They
appreciate why they are learning and what they are learning and can debate its
significance.

History prepares pupils for the future...knowledge and skills for adult
life...enhancing employability...developing an ability to take part in a democratic
society. It encourages mutual understanding of the historic origins of our ethnic
and cultural diversity, and helps pupils become confident and questioning
individuals.

Key Concepts (need to understand to deepen and broaden their

knowledge, skills and understanding.

1.1) Chronological understanding: a) Understand/use dates, vocab. &

conventions that describe hist. Periods and the passing of time. b)
Developing a sense of period thru’ describing/analysing the relationships
between the characteristic features of periods/societies. c) Building a
chronological framework. Historical context.
1.2) Cultural, ethnic and religious diversity: a) Understanding the diverse
experiences, ideas, beliefs, attitudes of humans in past societies and how
these have influenced our world.
1.3) Change and continuity: a) Identifying and explaining change and
continuity within/across periods of history
1.4) Cause and consequence: a) Analysing/explaining the reasons for and
results of historical events, situations, changes.
1.5) Significance: a) Considering the significance of
events/people/developments in their historical context and presently.
1.6) Interpretation: a) Understanding how historians form interpretations , b)
why historians have interpreted events/people/situations differently and with
different media and c) evaluating a range of interpretations of the past to
assess validity.

Key Processes: essential skills and processes in history that pupils need
to learn to make progress.
2.1) Historical Enquiry: a) identify and investigate, individually/team, specific
historical questions/issues, making/testing hypotheses. b) Reflect critically on
historical questions/issues.
2.2) Using evidence: a) identify, select, use a range of sources, inc. textual,
visual, oral, artefacts & historical environment. b) Evaluate sources to give
reasoned conclusions.

2.3) Communicating about the past: a) present & organise accounts/explanations

that are coherent, structured, substantiated using chronological conventions &
historical vocab. b) Communicate their knowledge/understanding of history in a
variety of ways using chronological conventions and hist. vocab.

Range & Content

Outline of the breadth teachers should be drawing on when teaching key

concepts and processes.

a) The study of History should be taught thru’ a combination of overview,

thematic and depth studies.
b) To give a secure chronological framework, choice of content to ensure all
pupils can identify/understand major events, changes and develop. in GB,
Euro &World history covering at least the medieval, early modern,
industrial & 20st Century periods.
c) Appropriate links to parallel events, changes & develop. in GB, Euro &
World history.

British History
d) Develop. of polit. Power from Middle Ages to 20th C. incl. changes in
relationship between rulers v. Ruled, the changing relationship of crown
and parliament & develop. of democracy.
e) Diff. Histories and changing relationships over time of England and the
celtic countries.
f) The impact through time of British immigration, settlement & emigration.
g) Way lives, beliefs, ideas and attitudes of British people have changed and
the factors; technology, economic develop., war, religion & culture, that
have driven these changes.
h) The develop. of trade, colonisation, industrialisation & technology, the
British Empire and its impact in Britain, overseas, pre-colonial civilisations,
nature and effects of the slave trade and resistance and decolonisation.
European History & world History
i) The impact of sig. Polit., social, cultural, technol. And/or econ. Develop.
and events on past Euro and World Societies.
j) The changing nature of conflict and co-operation between
countries/peoples & its lasting impact on national, ethnic, racial, cultural
or religious issues, inc. the nature & impact of two world wars & the
Holocaust, & the role of Euro & Intern. Institutions in resolving conflicts.
Curriculum opportunities:
The curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to:
a) Explore the ways the past shapes identities, shared cultures, values &
attitudes today.
b) Investigate aspects of personal, family, local history and how they relate
to a broader historical context.
c) Appreciate/evaluate thru visits, the role of galleries, museums, archives &
historic sites in preserving, presenting & influencing people’s attitudes
about the past.
d) Use ICT to research info about the past, process historical data, select,
categorise, organise and present.
e) Make links between history and other subjects including citizenship.