History at King's Court
Our Vision
At King's Court, we inspire children to become curious, knowledgeable historians with a strong understanding of Britain's past and the wider world. Through a carefully sequenced curriculum from Early Years to Year 4, pupils develop a lifelong love of history and an appreciation of how the past shapes the present.
Our curriculum is built around key threshold concepts, enabling children to connect knowledge, develop historical thinking and build strong, lasting understanding over time.
Threshold Concepts
Children learn to:
- Investigate and interpret the past through historical evidence.
- Build an overview of world history and understand how societies have changed.
- Understand chronology and the passing of time.
- Communicate historically using accurate vocabulary and evidence.
What Makes a Historian?
Children develop:
- Secure knowledge of significant people, events and periods.
- Critical thinking and enquiry skills.
- The ability to use and evaluate historical evidence.
- Confidence in discussing, questioning and debating the past.
- Curiosity, resilience and enthusiasm for learning about history.
Why History Matters
History helps children understand how the world has evolved and how past events continue to influence society today. By exploring historical themes, children learn to make connections between the past and present while developing knowledge that will stay with them for life.
How We Teach History
History is taught as a discrete subject throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 and begins in Early Years through Understanding the World. Learning is carefully sequenced using the Chris Quigley Essentials Curriculum and is enhanced through artefacts, enquiry-based learning, educational visits and local history opportunities.
Our curriculum is shaped by King's Court's curriculum drivers:
- Community
- Culture
- The Arts
Children revisit key knowledge and skills throughout their journey, strengthening memory, making meaningful connections and developing increasingly sophisticated historical understanding.
Bringing History to Life
Children deepen their learning through:
- Educational visits and workshops.
- Local history studies, including Windsor Castle and Runnymede.
- Historical artefacts and high-quality texts.
- Retrieval practice and continuous provision opportunities.
- Discussion, research and enquiry activities.
Impact
Impact
By the time pupils leave King's Court, they are confident historians who can:
- Place events and civilisations within a historical timeline.
- Use historical vocabulary accurately.
- Analyse and interpret evidence.
- Make connections across periods of history.
- Explain the significance of key events, people and achievements.
- Demonstrate curiosity and enthusiasm for learning about the past.
Through rich experiences and ambitious curriculum content, our children develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to appreciate history's role in shaping the world around them.