St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Humanities

Humanities
 
History and Geography are taught as discreet subjects at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School; in unit blocks of 6 weeks. We want our children to leave our school as enthusiastic and knowledgeable 'Historians' and 'Geographers' with a deep awareness of the world they live in. Both subjects start with children focusing on their own lives, be it where they live or the lives of their grandparents. As the curriculum progresses into KS2, the scope of the curriculum content widens with children learning about the world around them and the people that came before them. Children have the opportunity to revisit key themes and concepts as the progress through the curriculum, making links with prior learning. The foundations for both subjects are laid within the EYFS curriculum with an emphasis on vocabulary acquisition and learning through story.
 
 
SEND in Humanities
 
Ambition- What are we
aiming for children with
SEND to achieve in this
subject?
      Access- What amendments
      are made to the subject in
      order to help children with
      SEND to achieve?
We are ambitious about what our children with SEN can achieve and not believe their ability is ‘fixed’ for every subject. Yes, we should take into consideration their barriers to learning but we shouldn't let these limit their opportunities - just because they find reading difficult, it doesn't mean that they won’t be able to interpret Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics or read a map.
  • A progressive curriculum (revisit and revise) - At the start of your lesson, children revisiting the vocab and keys facts they have learnt. This will give children with SEN more time and opportunities to understand the concepts and vital knowledge they need to access the learning.
  •  Independent activity personal check in - For children with SEN, a history/geography lesson can be overwhelming with all the new information they are given as well as trying to comprehend ideas that may be very new to them. Information should be shared in small chunks. In some instances teachers will need to focus the intended curriculum down to the key knowledge and concepts to be learnt.
  • Word mats/vocabulary banks
  • For those who require it - provide an adapted activity that focuses more on application of knowledge/understanding and less of a written focus.
  • Teacher/TA guided work will be vital in children accessing their learning. This should be inline with agreed strategies outlined in individual targets and EHCPs.