History Curriculum Intent

At Booker Avenue Junior School, we believe that a high-quality history education helps pupils to understand the world they live in, appreciate the diversity of human experience and develop a strong sense of identity, community and citizenship. Through our carefully sequenced curriculum, based on the Opening Worlds Humanities Curriculum, pupils gain a rich knowledge of the past and develop the disciplinary skills needed to think and work as historians. 

Our history curriculum is designed to provide pupils with a coherent chronological understanding of local, British and world history. Beginning with the achievements of early civilisations such as Ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley and Ancient Greece, pupils build their knowledge systematically through studies of the Roman Empire, Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain, Islamic civilisations, the Maya, African kingdoms, industrialisation, and Britain during the Second World War. Alongside these studies, pupils explore significant individuals, societies and ideas that have shaped the modern world. 

We are committed to ensuring that all pupils, regardless of background or starting point, develop substantive historical knowledge alongside an understanding of key historical concepts including civilisation, empire, migration, religion, trade, power, settlement and conflict. Pupils learn how historians investigate the past through evidence, interpretation and enquiry, enabling them to ask perceptive questions, analyse sources critically and construct informed historical arguments.

Our curriculum reflects the diverse communities of modern Britain and provides pupils with opportunities to study a wide range of cultures and perspectives. Through units on Islamic civilisations, African kingdoms, the transatlantic slave trade and world civilisations, pupils develop an appreciation of the interconnected nature of human history and the contributions of different peoples and societies. 

A strong emphasis is placed on local history. Through studies of Liverpool’s past, including the city’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and its experiences during the Second World War, pupils develop a deeper understanding of their local heritage and how national and global events have shaped their community. 

By the time pupils leave Booker Avenue Junior School, they will have developed a secure chronological framework, a broad and ambitious knowledge of the past, and the confidence to think critically about historical issues. They will be equipped to make connections across time periods and cultures, understand how the past continues to influence the present, and approach the future as informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens.