At St Alphonsus RC Primary School, we put Christ at the centre of our teaching and learning.  Our curriculum stems from our Mission Statement: 

God lives in me. I am His witness. 

I respect everybody, everybody respects me. 

In our loving school, everyone is unique. 

Just like the flowers in the field, as they

grow, we too grow in God’s love each day.

The life and teaching of Jesus and the values of the Gospel underpin all aspects of school life.

Why do we teach History at St Alphonsus RC Primary School?

 
The aim of history teaching at St Alphonsus RC Primary School is to provide a quality first history education, valuing the importance of History and its place in the children's learning. Through careful planning, we deliver high-quality history education which will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

We aim to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and equip them to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, shift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We believe that History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

When children leave us, they will have a good understanding of the Early History of Britain, how wider civilisations have shaped the way we live today and the differences between British History and that of the world. We also want our children to leave with an understanding of how their local environment has changed and how the past has shaped where they live today, so we cover aspects of Manchester’s History to ensure the children's experience is relevant and enjoyable. 

History at St Alphonsus Primary School focuses on enabling children to think as historians. We place an emphasis on giving every child the opportunity to examine and handle historical artefacts and primary sources. In each key stage, we give children the opportunity to visit sites of historical significance. We encourage a range of visitors to come into the school and talk about their first-hand experiences of events in the past.

Careful planning of this subject allows the children to go on their own 'historical journey'. From Year 3, topics are taught in chronological order to show context and clear chronology, as well as links between time periods. We have created a knowledge and skills progression document to ensure that the children's knowledge and skills are being built upon year on year. We have also planned subject-specific vocabulary, as well as links across other subjects (specifically Geography). It is important that our children have the opportunity to construct their own opinions, arguments and have the ability to balance evidence based on secure knowledge and the ability to research independently, which are addressed through the above historical concepts. 

We want our children to be confident, happy, independent, resilient and to very much work with our Christian Values in mind. We teach History to create future Historians!