Download Date of implementation: September 2016

Foundation Subject Policy for History
Including professional development materials
Date of implementation: September 2016
Review date: September 2019
From pre-intentional to formal learning
Learning through play
Thematic approaches
• pre-formal
Introduction
Fountaindale School is a Nottinghamshire Local Authority
Special School for pupils ages 3 to 19 whose special
educational needs fall predominantly within the category
of complex physical needs and disabilities. All of our pupils
have associated learning difficulties, some may have a
sensory impairment and/ or communication difficulties.
• semi-formal
Subject knowledge
• formal
Content
Page
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3
Contents
Overview
Development Process
Location & Dissemination
Context
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4
Pre-formal curriculum statement
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Semi-formal curriculum statement
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Formal curriculum statement
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Development Process
The policy will be reviewed formally every three years and updated as appropriate. The
Humanities coordinator will lead on this process.
The History policy is presented to the Governing Body of Fountaindale School.
It will also be reviewed within the three year cycle, if required, to ensure the formal curriculum is
fully compliant with the national curriculum and any other government initiatives.
Overview
The focus in the pre-formal curriculum is on the development of the fundamentals of
communication, emotional and social development and of their cognitive abilities; though
recognising that they are likely to remain within developmentally early intellectual parameters.
Every moment and situation is regarded as an opportunity to interact and communicate.
The pre-formal curriculum is an integrated curriculum that our learners access through
personalised support from adults working in those learning environments. Our learners interact
with the world around through observing and exploring that world; through all seven senses.
(Encounter)
One key focus within the semi-formal curriculum is on the development of thinking skills for
learners with severe and complex learning difficulties who generally operate within the P4 to
P8 or below year one expectations..
Foundation subjects are delivered through an integrated thematic approach with focused
learning opportunities that introduces content appropriate to the individual’s cognitive
processing capabilities.
The formal curriculum builds upon and extends the knowledge, skills and understanding
introduced in the semi-formal curriculum, and adheres to the requirements of the national
curriculum.
The formal curriculum aims to develop learners’ abilities through:

delivering the National Curriculum in a fun and engaging way

providing learners with meaningful, engaging contexts for the learning of History
History is assessed using STEP for learners operating below Y1 age related expectations and
Learning Ladders for Y1 – Y6+ age related expectations.
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History in
the pre-formal
curriculum
The pre-formal curriculum’s starting point is not subject content or specific objectives but the
engagement and interactions within activities. Therefore the pre-formal curriculum does not
deliver History as a stand-alone subject; rather the pre-formal curriculum promotes social and
emotional development, learning, interacting with others and the world around them through
explorative play, shared stories and activities, and during formal and informal social
communication times.
By providing the right learning opportunities; that is where everything is happening at once, and
the chances for students to learn are multiple provided that key basic elements are present, i.e.
the right communication approach, the repetition of the routines, motivation, comfort, an
appropriate physical environment, time and so forth.
Research has shown that play provides the right structure for learning as it enables our pre-formal
learners to:
 express their emotions
 maintain emotional balance, physical and mental health and well-being
 develop a sense of who they are
 participate in shared activities
 learn social skills of sharing and turn taking
 begin to see emotions in others
 develop their interactions with familiar people
 encounter and explore the world around them
 be curious
 experience movement, encounter sounds and music
 In the earliest stages of play (sensorimotor) exploration of the world is spontaneous
through touch, smell, taste as well being aware how things look and sound; these are
known as naturalistic experiences and are a major mode of learning during sensorimotor
stage.
It is important that our pre-formal learners are able to
explore the physical world as independently as possible
as this enable opportunities for communication and
cognitive development. Mobility allows exploration. By
exploring they begin to discover more on their own and
begin to learn to think for themselves.
Research indicates that shared (sensory) stories:
 support the communication of likes,
dislikes, preferences, understanding and
knowledge; developing a reaction to
Farmer Duck (in the immersive room)
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stimuli
 support active engagement with the world; developing their focus of attention on events
and objects; in other words help them develop an understanding of his or her world
 support cognitive development
 introduce new experiences and encourage the development of awareness of activities and
experiences;
 enable the making of connections with their peers through developing their focus of
attention on people; developing the acceptance and engagement in shared exploration
encourage:
 the development of turn-taking
Assessment is through Routes for Learning.
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History in
the semi-formal
curriculum
History is delivered through themes and topics.
The following is an extract from the semi-formal
curriculum handbook
It is important to recognise that there are many differences in individual profiles of this group of
learners, and these may well be spikey learning profiles; but broadly they can be expected to
move through developmental milestones if they have the sensory, physical and cognitive ability to
do so. However, it is important to remember that this group of learners do not have delayed
development as this suggests, given time, they can ‘catch up’ with their typically developing peers.
This group of semi-formal learners struggle with
all
Early thinking skills include:
areas of thinking:
 cognition (thinking and understanding)
 Using intuition.
 problem solving (acting upon
 Predicting and anticipating.
understanding)
 Remembering.
 metacognition (thinking about thinking)
They have difficulties with, for example, sensory
processing and perceiving sensory patterns,
memory, generalising and problem solving.
Our learners like order, structure, routine and
certainty in their learning. The challenge is to
move away from this restricted learning diet and
provide opportunities for the learners to think and
problem solve as independently as possible.

The understanding of cause and
effect.

Linking objects, events and
experiences.

Thinking creatively.

Thinking about thought
processes.

QCA 2009
This group of learners learn best when learning is related to their own experiences. Learning can
be achieved through structured play; through functional activities; and by using a topic-based
approach where learning is integrated.
The semi-formal curriculum is about developing attitudes or dispositions (curiosity, desire to
experiment, challenge and share ideas).
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It does this by providing opportunities for them to explore; to we have opportunities to actively
construct their own knowledge. These experiences can be naturalistic, informal or structured;
naturalistic or spontaneous are where the learner controls choice and action; in informal
experiences, the learner chooses the activity and action, but adults intervene at some point; and in
structured experiences, the adult chooses the experience for the learner and gives some direction
to the child’s action.
In the semi-formal curriculum we would expect to see most experiences being structured
experiences being provided through the themes and topics. Opportunities for informal
experiences may be provided through play sessions. This learning should be meaningful to the
learner. Learners are exposed to more geographical thinking as they progress towards year one
expectations; subject knowledge increasing in-line with those expectations.
Our encouragement of inquiry does not expect our semi-formal learners to discover everything for
themselves; rather, our learners should be supported on relating new knowledge/concepts to
previously learned knowledge and to experiential learning. This helps our learners to have a
consistent picture of the world they live in and its past.
We can facilitate this process in several ways through asking questions that are relevant to the
learner.
Our semi-formal learners can, for example, experience inquiry through structured problem solving
activities that builds on informal experiences previously encountered. The driving force behind
problem solving is curiosity—an interest in finding out. The challenge we face is to create an
environment in which problem solving can occur.
Research shows that structured problem solving and reflective play are important factors in the
development of thinking.
Assessment is through STEP
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History in
the formal
curriculum
Overview
At key stages 1 – 3 formal learners will follow the national curriculum adapted to meet the
needs of learners with complex learning difficulties and disabilities.
Many formal learners also have more than one difficulty or disability impacting on their
learning; for example autism and cerebral palsy. These multi-layered difficulties may mean that
in some areas approaches outlined in the semi-formal curriculum are still appropriate.
The formal curriculum is designed to enable learners achieve their full potential in the key
areas of:
know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from
the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how
Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
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know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of
ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past
non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’,
‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence,
similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts,
analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts,
including written narratives and analyses
understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to
make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of
the past have been constructed
gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts,
understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history;
between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between shortand long-term timescales.
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Key stages 1 – 3
Key stage 1
Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the
passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a
chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different
periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and
answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know
and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we
find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.
In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events
and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing pupils to historical periods that they
will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3.
Pupils should be taught about:
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changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects
of change in national life
events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the
Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals
or anniversaries]
the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and
international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different
periods [for example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil
Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry,
Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell]
significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.
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Key stage 2
Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of
British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they
study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate
use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid
questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct
informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical
information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range
of sources.
In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching the British, local and
world history outlined below, teachers should combine overview and depth studies to help pupils
understand both the long arc of development and the complexity of specific aspects of the
content.
Pupils should be taught about:
 changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age

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the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations
appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient
Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the
western world
a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen
from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c.
AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.
a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological
knowledge beyond 1066
a local history study
the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the
Confessor
Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
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Key stage 3
Pupils should extend and deepen their chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British,
local and world history, so that it provides a well-informed context for wider learning.
Pupils should identify significant events, make connections, draw contrasts, and analyse trends
within periods and over long arcs of time. They should use historical terms and concepts in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
They should pursue historically valid enquiries including some they have framed
themselves, and create relevant, structured and evidentially supported accounts in response.
They should understand how different types of historical sources are used rigorously to make historical
claims and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been
constructed.
In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching the British, local
and world history outlined below, teachers should combine overview and depth studies to help pupils
understand both the long arc of development and the complexity of specific aspects of the content.
Pupils should be taught about:
 the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
 the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745
 ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901
 challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day
 a local history study
 the study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’
chronological knowledge from before 1066
 at least one study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with
other world developments [for example, Mughal India 1526-1857; China’s Qing dynasty 1644-1911;
Changing Russian empires c.1800-1989; USA in the 20th Century].
Assessment is through Learning Ladders