Hertford Infant and Nursery School

The aim of History teaching is to stimulate the children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past, locally, in Britain and in the wider world. We teach children a sense of chronology, and through this they develop a sense of past and present by looking at events within and beyond living memory.  We teach children to understand how events in the past have influenced our lives today. We also teach them about significant figures in history; building their knowledge of the wider world. They learn to value their own and other people’s cultures.

 History teaching at Hertford Primary prepares children for future learning by teaching them everyday historical terms and appropriate vocabulary.  They also learn to ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. The study of history reinforces skills of enquiry and reasoning, which are applicable in many areas of life. 

History leads two topics per year group.  We begin with a stunning start designed to excite and stimulate the children's interest or close a topic with a fantastic finish, sharing children's learning in an exciting and engaging way with the wider school community.  A variety of activities throughout the topic are designed to encourage children to make deductions from evidence, research using books, empathise with people from the past and encourage them to recognise similarities and differences between different time periods.  The children are encouraged to reason, linking cause with effect.  When meaningful, we visit local places of historical interest such as The Sealife Centre, The Brighton Pavilion and a Local Air raid shelter.  We also invite other experts in to run workshops to bring the past alive, for example a visit from a Roman Soldier and Artefacts from Sussex Past, a local history society.