At John Locke Academy, our aim is to foster a love of learning about the past of Britian and the past of other parts of the world. We want children to have a sense of the chronology of world events and understand bigger historical concepts such as change, civilisation and empire. We want to children to understand that history is complex and open to interpretation. Our historical learning journeys encourage children to ask critical questions, validate sources of information and have a better understanding of the society they live in and the wider world around them. Most of all, we want children to have a say in their future by understanding their past.

We want children to have an understanding of how history has affected the local area. Our proximity to the Battle of Britain Bunker, St. Andrew’s Park and Grand Union Canal ensure our learning journeys bring the wider curriculum to life. In-depth studies of key figures in recent history help our pupils understand how society as we know it has been formed over time and how humanity has learned or not learned from mistakes that have been made and from key transformative events. 

We want to expose children to different kinds of historical knowledge:

Big concepts or overarching themes, that are revisited across the history curriculum - eg. invasion, civilisation and society, technology. 

Chronological knowledge - specific knowledge of broad historical periods

Fingertip knowledge or key facts - pupils learn carefully planned key facts to help ensure coherent chronological knowledge is committed to long term memory. 

Disciplinary knowledge - thinking like a historian so that ideas can be challenged. This includes understanding cause and effect; change and continuity; similarity and difference; historical significance and historical interpretation

Throughout their learning, children develop the skills to think as historians, use abstract historical terms and understand and explain wider historical concepts. Our history curriculum helps ensure that all our pupils have the skills and strategies they need to prepare them for each stage of their education.