Curriculum Intent
At St. Gregory’s, we believe that History is all around us—within our families, our local community, our country and across the wider world. Our history curriculum aims to foster curiosity, inspire questioning and help children understand how the past has shaped the present.
As part of the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, we follow a carefully designed History curriculum that ensures clear progression in knowledge and skills from Year 1 to Year 6, preparing pupils well for Key Stage 3.
Through high‑quality history teaching, we aim for all pupils to:
- Develop secure knowledge of significant events, people and civilisations from Britain, Teesside and the wider world.
- Understand how and why interpretations of the past differ.
- Think critically, ask questions and explore historical concepts such as change, continuity, cause and consequence.
- Build a strong sense of identity through meaningful learning about local history.
- Develop historical enquiry skills by using sources, evidence and artefacts.
Our curriculum is rooted in our trust virtues—encouraging curiosity, resilience, honesty, responsibility, justice, respect and compassion when exploring people and events from different times.
Curriculum Implementation
Trust History Curriculum
History is taught in termly, discreet units using the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust’s curriculum. This ensures:
- A clear sequence of learning with minimum knowledge end points.
- Strong progression so children know more and remember more.
- A consistent approach across all Trust schools.
- Full coverage of the National Curriculum.
Threshold Concepts
Four key disciplinary concepts are taught throughout the curriculum:
- Chronological Understanding
- Investigating the Past
- Communicating History
- Thinking Like a Historian
These concepts form the building blocks of how children learn history from KS1 to KS5.
Golden Threads
Conceptual threads run through all units to deepen understanding:
- Cause → Effect → Response
- Significance
- Continuity and Change
- Evidence and Interpretation
- Social, political, religious and economic factors
These help children make meaningful connections across time.
Learn It! Link It!
Each topic includes:
- Learn It! – key knowledge, vocabulary and concepts
- Link It! – helps pupils connect new learning to prior units
These tools strengthen retention and build long‑term understanding.
Teaching and Pedagogy: “I Do – We Do – You Do”
All history lessons follow our whole-school teaching model:
- I Do – teacher modelling historical thinking and vocabulary
- We Do – shared source work, discussion and analysis
- You Do – pupils apply knowledge independently in written tasks or enquiry work
This ensures high-quality teaching, clarity and strong support for all pupils.
Local History
Our curriculum includes meaningful references to our region, including:
- The development of the Stockton–Darlington Railway
- Captain Cook as a significant local explorer
- Teesside’s industrial heritage and its contribution to the wider world
These links help pupils understand the history of the place in which they live.
Curriculum Impact
By the time pupils leave St. Gregory’s, they:
- Have secure knowledge of key historical periods studied from KS1–KS2.
- Understand how the past influences modern life.
- Use historical vocabulary confidently and accurately.
- Think and write like historians—using evidence, explaining ideas and drawing conclusions.
- Can make links between different time periods using Golden Threads.
- Know about the history of their local area and its significance.
- Are well-prepared for the demands of KS3 History.
Impact is measured through:
- Pupil voice
- Book looks and topic outcomes
- Retrieval activities and assessed tasks
- Learning walks and teaching observations
Our children leave St. Gregory’s with a love of history, a strong understanding of the past and the skills to explore historical questions with curiosity, confidence and integrity.