Our History curriculum builds pupils’ disciplinary knowledge - the skills historians use to investigate the past - progressively, securely and coherently from EYFS to Year 6. Through the Kapow mixed-age rolling programme (Cycle A & B), children revisit and deepen these skills over time. 

 

1. Chronology 

EYFS 

• Use simple vocabulary related to time (before/now/next/long ago). 
• Talk about events in their own life in order. 

KS1 

• Place simple events and people on familiar timelines. 
• Use terms such as past, present, old, new, long ago. 

Lower KS2 

• Sequence events and civilisations more accurately on a timeline. 
• Identify similarities/differences between periods studied. 

Upper KS2 

• Explain connections, contrasts and trends across long periods of time. 
• Show secure chronological understanding of key periods and themes. 

 

2. Historical Enquiry 

EYFS 

• Ask simple questions about pictures, objects and stories. 
• Comment on what they notice. 

KS1 

• Ask and answer simple historical questions. 
• Use pictures and objects to find out about the past. 

Lower KS2 

• Frame and investigate questions using sources. 
• Make simple inferences from artefacts and images. 

Upper KS2 

• Plan and lead historical enquiries. 
• Evaluate the usefulness of different sources to answer questions. 

 

3. Using Evidence 

EYFS 

• Handle artefacts and describe what they notice. 
• Begin to compare objects from “then” and “now.” 

KS1 

• Use sources (photos, artefacts, stories) to find basic information. 
• Identify obvious differences between sources. 

Lower KS2 

• Use a range of primary and secondary sources to gather information. 
• Make supported judgements based on evidence. 

Upper KS2 

• Evaluate reliability and bias in sources. 
• Use evidence to support or challenge claims about the past. 

 

4. Interpretation 

EYFS 

• Notice that people may have different experiences. 
• Respond to stories that show contrasting lives. 

KS1 

• Recognise that the past can be represented in different ways. 
• Compare two contrasting versions of the same event. 

Lower KS2 

• Identify why people might interpret events differently. 
• Use evidence to suggest why interpretations vary. 

Upper KS2 

• Explain how and why interpretations are constructed. 
• Critically analyse different representations of the past. 

 

5. Communicating Historically 

EYFS 

• Talk about what they see and think using simple vocabulary. 
• Share ideas about past events through play, talk and stories. 

KS1 

• Use simple historical vocabulary (e.g., monarch, explorer, past). 
• Sequence ideas or events using pictures and words. 

Lower KS2 

• Use increasingly precise vocabulary related to periods studied. 
• Present findings in different forms (writing, drama, diagrams). 

Upper KS2 

• Use a wide range of historical terms confidently and accurately. 
• Present historical arguments clearly, selecting and organising relevant information.