Humanities

‘We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race’ – Kofi Annan

Religious Education supports our school’s aim to promote community cohesion and provides an opportunity for our teachers to develop children’s understanding and appreciation of diversity. Through Religious Education, we aim to promote shared values and to celebrate the morals and beliefs of everybody. We provide sensitive learning opportunities which promote an ethos of respect for others, challenging stereotypes and building an understanding of other cultures and beliefs. This contributes to promoting a positive and inclusive school ethos that champions democratic values and human rights.

‘It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement’ – Sir David Attenborough

Exciting topic-based learning allows children in all year groups to increase their knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and our local area. They become explorers, reporters and meteorologists, and they are excited, inspired and amazed by natural environments. They are exposed to maps, globes, atlases and photographs; they talk about their observations; they make comparisons, analyse and explore points of interest.

Fieldwork is an essential element to the children’s learning. We enable children to use compass directions, to describe features on a map and to give each other directions. They make their own maps, including keys, and identify landmarks and capital cities. They also compare weather patterns in different parts of the world.

The children are encouraged to use geographical vocabulary in their learning, for example, discussing physical features of an area, such as: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather, or human features, such as: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop.

‘Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world’ – Roald Dahl, Matilda

The engaging topics which form the foundations of our curriculum ensure that children engage with Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Through role play, non-fiction texts, video clips and artefacts, the children are inspired to ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of historical stories to show that they know and understand key features of events.

During their learning, the children develop an awareness of the past. They learn about famous people in history, such as Samuel Pepys, and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different time periods. We aim to provide an exciting, engaging exploration of history and, through our topics, the children learn all about:

• changes within living memory
• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally (for example, the Great Fire of London)
• the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements
• significant historical events, people and places in our local area