Humanities

History

Intent

At Pratts Bottom we offer an ambitious and progressive curriculum that allows the children to learn all areas of the history national curriculum. The skills, vocabulary  and concepts from this are revisited consistently throughout all year groups to ensure that the children can transfer and link these to all periods of history as well as to other subjects that are taught at Pratts Bottom. We aim to promote the importance of diversity through our curriculum through the understanding of a range of places, people, cultures and events. 

Our intent reflects our curriculum drivers: 

• Sustainability : At Pratts Bottom we believe that it is our role to ensure that the children are well prepared for their future. For this to happen, children must learn about how prehistoric ages and ancient civilizations interacted with their environment, how historical events have had a serious effect on today’s environment and the repercussions of  modern conflict on the environment. Through this, students can develop a holistic understanding of how human actions have shaped and continue to shape the world, fostering a sense of responsibility towards sustainable practices.
• Diversity: Through all of the topics taught to the children at Pratts Bottom, they will learn about a wide range of significant people who have had an impact on the world. Our curriculum represents people of all cultures and backgrounds. In addition to this, the children will learn about a plethora of historical events from around the world and therefore learn about a range of places locally, nationally and internationally.  
• Growth Mindset: This runs throughout the whole of our curriculum. Children are taught that historical figures are often faced with challenges and failures before achieving success. This emphasises the importance of resilience and perseverance and how they can use this throughout the whole of their education. Children learn that inspirational significant people make mistakes and these mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth, both in history and personal development. 

Implementation

Each of our termly 'Vehicles for Learning' has a historical focus that is key to the delivery of the unit. Throughout these units teachers develop children's substantive Historical knowledge.

Alongside this substantive knowledge teachers also develop children's Historical disciplinary knowledge. Teachers follow a clear progression of this disciplinary knowledge to ensure children can 'think like a historian' and use historical enquiry approaches effectively. These themes are:

• Chronology
• Cause and consequence
• Change and continuity
• Similarities and differences
• Evidence
• Significance

Impact

The skills taught through our History curriculum are grouped into disciplinary or substantive knowledge. These knowledge categories are referenced throughout the lessons and are assessed by teachers lesson by lesson. 

Geography 

Intent

Geography is understanding the world we live in. At Pratts Bottom we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world.  The curriculum at our school has been created to ensure that teaching equips pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As the pupils go through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. The geographical knowledge and skills the children learn are progressive and are sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, connected and change over time.

Our intent reflects our curriculum drivers: 

• Sustainability : At Pratts Bottom geography is integral to promoting sustainability by fostering an understanding of environmental systems, resource management, conservation, and climate change. By integrating sustainability principles into geography education, students develop the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to address pressing environmental challenges and create a more sustainable future.

• Diversity: At Pratts Bottom our geography curriculum provides a framework for understanding and appreciating the diverse aspects of our world, including cultural, biological, demographic and environmental diversity. By studying geography, students develop a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of global phenomena and the importance of embracing diversity in all its forms.

• Growth Mindset: Geography provides insights into the interconnectedness of the world, including environmental issues, cultural diversity, and global challenges. It also encourages students to explore the world around them, fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder. A growth mindset nurtures this curiosity by encouraging students to ask questions, seek new experiences, build resilience and engage in exploration. By approaching geography with a growth mindset, students can cultivate a lifelong love of learning and discovery.

Implementation

Teachers at Pratts Bottom provide a concrete and positive attitude to geography whilst upholding high expectations through the following approaches:

• Geography will be taught in specific and arranged topic blocks by the teacher. This allows the children to enhance their level of understanding year on year. Deeper thinking activities as well as quizzes on prior learning allow all children to be challenged. 
• Our curriculum incorporates a variety of hands-on activities, outdoor observations, community mapping and field trips such as the Natural history Museum to engage the students in active learning experiences. 
• Throughout the year groups, the children delve deep into understanding our local environment and community as well as a vast array of countries across the globe providing opportunities to compare to ensure a deep knowledge of the similarities and contrasts that exist in today’s world. All children participate in Forest School which allows them to experience the local environment first hand to enhance this learning. 
•  Children will foster a global perspective by being exposed to diverse cultures and regions and explore global issues including environmental sustainability and consider the connection between human societies and the natural environment. 
• They will use a range of maps, globes, atlases and other geographic tools to teach basic spatial concepts such as direction scale and location. 
• Multimedia resources are used throughout the years, such as videos, interactive websites and digital mapping software and apps to ensure learning is interactive and engaging for all. This enhances the children’s understanding of geographic concepts and prepares them with real life skills.  
• Children are explicitly taught technical vocabulary. They are encouraged to use this language throughout topics and subjects to enhance understanding and broaden their vocabulary. 
• Geography is integrated with other subjects such as science, history and maths to reinforce learning and connections. They will explore themes such as climate change and sustainable development to provide opportunities for deeper exploration. 
• Teacher use a variety of formative and summative assessment strategies, such as questioning, observations, quizzes and projects to monitor the students progress and understanding. They will have opportunities to reflect on their learning and make connections between new knowledge and prior learning. 

By implementing these strategies, Pratts Bottom Primary School can create a rich and engaging geography education program that fosters the children’s curiosity, critical thinking skills and appreciation for the world around them. 

Impact

The geographical journey of children at Pratts Bottom Primary School and the experiences we offer, will engage and inspire pupils to have a love and appreciation of the world we live in. The impact of teaching geography will be seen across the school and will forge important links between home, school, the local area and the wider world.

By encouraging the enjoyment and engagement in geography, children will develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that will allow them to fulfil their potential and be able to think like a geographer. 

By the time children leave Pratts Bottom they will:

• Have an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like.
• Have an excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated. 
• Have a deep understanding of how diverse the world we live in as and make comparisons between their environment and the wider world. 
• Have a high level of understanding of technical geographical language and be able to incorporate this into their everyday vocabulary.
• Have the ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings.
• Be highly developed and frequently utilise fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
• Have a passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.
• Have the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.
• Have a secure geographical knowledge which is a basis to deepened in a secondary school setting.