“Why do we teach this?” That’s the question Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School asks about its history curriculum. Our Lady’s aims to give children knowledge of the past. This helps them shape their thinking for the future. The school wants children to understand significant events. These events include those in British and world history.
Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School is on Oxford Road. It is located in Cowley, Oxford. It’s a Roman Catholic school for boys and girls. The school welcomes children aged 3 to 11. Our Lady’s has a nursery. It is part of The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company.
The school became an academy on April 1, 2013. Before that, it was Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School. The school’s capacity is 315 pupils. In 2022, 318 pupils attended Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School.
Ofsted inspected Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School. The inspection took place on March 29, 2022. They rated the school as “Good” in all areas. These areas included quality of education and behavior. They also rated personal development and leadership as good. Early years provision also received a “Good” rating.
At Our Lady’s, history is an investigative subject. It uses facts and evidence. Children learn skills to be historians. These skills include chronological understanding. They also learn historical investigation and interpretation. The children learn to present historical information. They organize it and communicate it effectively.
The school uses different teaching strategies. These strategies provoke thought. They encourage children to ask questions. Children discover answers through exploration and research. This helps them gain a greater understanding of the past.
History is taught as part of a termly topic. Children deepen their knowledge and skills. This helps them answer a “Big Question.” Teachers plan lessons using a progression of knowledge and skills document. This ensures the curriculum is covered. It also ensures skills and knowledge are progressive. The progression covers chronological understanding. It also covers historical enquiry and interpretations. Students learn about organizing and communicating historical information. They also learn about events, people, and changes.
By the time children leave Our Lady’s, they can articulate historical knowledge. They develop language and skills. This helps them understand the history of the United Kingdom. They also learn about the wider world. The children understand events and people from the past. They can make links between historical events and today’s world. They progress to the next stage of education as competent historians.
The school monitors the impact of history teaching. The history subject leader assesses the curriculum’s impact. They consider the profile of historical people and events. They consider opportunities for historical enquiry in early years. They also look at history assessment data. The leader examines evidence of history around the school. Discussions with pupils help evaluate their ability to think like historians. Discussions with teachers are also part of the assessment. Learning behavior in classrooms is observed. The leader also assesses the culture of history across Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School.