History

Our Vision for History 

At The Growth Learning Collective, our history curriculum reflects the aims of the National Curriculum. We ensure all children: 

• Build secure chronological understanding and recognise how events and periods connect. 
• Use disciplinary skills such as questioning, interpreting evidence and evaluating different viewpoints. 
• Think like historians by analysing sources, considering reliability and constructing evidence-based arguments. 
• Understand the complexity of the past and how it influences the present and future. 

History nurtures curiosity and helps children question narratives and appreciate diverse human experiences. Through strong substantive knowledge and disciplinary thinking, pupils learn that history is not just facts but a way of understanding the world. From Early Years onwards, pupils are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions and recognise that interpretations change over time. We prioritise diversity and representation so pupils encounter a wide range of voices, including those often under represented. Studying both local and global history helps children connect with their community and understand wider historical links. 

 

What Do History Lessons Look Like? 
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so pupils revisit and embed key knowledge before extending it. Lessons begin with retrieval practice to strengthen long-term understanding. 

• KS1: Children develop a sense of chronology and study significant people and events. 
• KS2: Pupils deepen knowledge through local, national and global units, making connections across time and place. 

Historical enquiry is central. Pupils explore photographs, artefacts, documents and oral histories, learning to question reliability, identify bias and draw thoughtful conclusions. Teaching is broken into small steps using the “my turn, our turn, your turn” approach so pupils see disciplinary skills modelled clearly before applying them independently. 

Learning is enriched through visits to museums, heritage sites and local landmarks, supported by high-quality texts and artefacts. History is accessible to all learners through scaffolding, differentiated resources and inclusive strategies. Teachers receive ongoing professional development to ensure strong subject knowledge. Assessment is varied and provides opportunities for pupils to demonstrate both their substantive knowledge and their disciplinary knowledge. 

 

How You Can Help at Home 

• Everyday conversations: Talk about how objects, routines or family stories have changed over time. 
• Exploring books and media: Read children’s history books, visit the library or watch age-appropriate historical programmes together. 
• Local exploration: Notice old buildings, landmarks or plaques and discuss what they reveal about the past. 
• Encouraging curiosity: Ask questions such as “How do we know?” or “Why might people disagree?” and explore the answers together. 

 

Geography

What is our vision for Geography?  

At The Growth Learning Collective, we believe our pupils are the future. Through our Geography curriculum, we equip children with the knowledge, skills, and curiosity they need to flourish in the world they live in. By exploring local and global environments, learning about natural and human processes, and developing strong mapping skills, our pupils build an informed, thoughtful understanding of the world around them.

We nurture global citizenship by teaching key environmental issues—such as global warming, deforestation, and plastic pollution—so children understand how human actions affect our planet and how they can make a difference. Geography shapes our pupils’ daily lives and helps them grow into caring, responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Our school communities are rich and diverse, and we recognise that not all pupils start with a well-developed understanding of the wider world. We value substantive knowledge (core geographical facts and concepts) just as much as disciplinary knowledge (the skills and thinking of geographers).

Substantive knowledge covers:

• • Locational Knowledge: The local area → The UK → The world
  • Place Knowledge
  • Physical Geography: Weather and climate, rivers and coasts, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes
  • Human Geography: Settlements, land use, population, economic activity, trade
  • Geographical Skills: Mapping, fieldwork, data collection and presentation

Disciplinary knowledge focuses on how to be a geographer: asking and answering questions; collecting and interpreting data; analysing and communicating findings; evaluating and debating ideas. Children learn contextual knowledge of globally significant places—on land and at sea—alongside their key physical (e.g., climate, landforms) and human (e.g., settlement, trade) characteristics. They also develop an understanding of processes (natural and human) that shape places and environments, how these processes are interdependent, and how they drive change over time.

 

What do geography lessons look like in our school and how do we plan lessons?  

Geography is taught through three units per year, with most units lasting around six lessons. Teachers are clear about what children need to learn in each unit and how this builds on prior learning across the key stages. We draw on the expertise of The Geographical Association to ensure our units are well planned and to strengthen teachers’ subject knowledge and confidence. Key strands are revisited in every unit with knowledge, skills and understanding progressing year-on-year. Disciplinary skills drive the level of depth to which substantive knowledge is explored, ensuring appropriate stretch and challenge.

All units are planned in line with the National Curriculum and organised around Big Questions or enquiry questions that guide investigation and discussion and give learning purpose (e.g., “How does the weather change our lives?”, “Why do people live where they do?”).

Teachers plan from children’s starting points, with a clear view of what comes next, so learning is sequenced and builds over time. Retrieval practice is built into lessons to revisit key concepts and activate prior knowledge. Ongoing assessment, including purposeful questioning and observation, informs responsive teaching and supports all learners.

 

Fieldwork and Firsthand Experiences

Fieldwork is a statutory—and essential—part of our geography provision. We embed fieldwork throughout the year to help pupils “think like geographers”:

Children explore familiar and unfamiliar places to develop a strong sense of place and identity. They practise mapping skills in real contexts—e.g., making route maps, using simple keys and symbols, and reading local street maps. Pupils manage risk, navigate real landscapes, gather data, and use it to answer meaningful questions (e.g., traffic counts, land use surveys, weather observations).

These firsthand experiences connect classroom learning to the outside world and ensure geography feels relevant, current, and purposeful. As our children develop their geographical skills to become competent geographers, they become confident in: Fieldwork & Data Handling, Interpreting Sources and Communicating Geographical Information. 

 

What can you do to help your child at home?

Looking at maps together—find your street, trace routes, or explore countries on a globe or online map. Talking about the weather—compare today’s weather to other places in the UK or around the world.  Watching documentaries or reading books about nature, countries, and cultures.  Discussing environmental issues—recycling, saving energy, and caring for the planet. Exploring your local area—go for walks, notice landmarks, and talk about how places change over time.