History

"The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future." Theodore Roosevelt

At Oatlands we believe that History is the study of the past and changes over time.  The study of history helps make sense of humankind. It also helps people understand the things that happen today and that may happen in the future.

We aim to begin our History lessons by posing a question.  For example, who was George Stephenson?  The children had to look through the artefacts and work out who George Stephenson was.  We use high quality resources, texts and webpages to bring our History lessons to life.  Experiences, like travelling to the National Railway Museum by train, are used to embed children's knowledge of our learning in History.

We celebrated the coronation of King Charles III by having a special assembly.  The children came to school wearing red, white and blue!  In our classrooms we learned about the King and the royal family.  The children made and decorated their own crown and the school cook made a coronation themed picnic lunch!  Finally, we had a coronation family party, where we sang the national anthem and other coronation themed songs.

We are proud of our school heritage and love to celebrate it through Victorian Day, every two years. On Victorian Day, everyone comes dressed in Victorian clothing and has lots of fun experiencing life as a Victorian.

Activities include:

• A visit 'Below stairs' where pupils wash, clean, polish and bake using traditional Victorian methods!
• The School Room where children experience school as it was when it was first built in 1897 including using chalk, blackboards and ink.
• The leisure Room where we have fun playing with Victorian toys and learning playground games.
• A visit to the Activity Room were we have a go at making traditional toys including paper dolls.
• Drill which is a P.E. lesson but Victorian style! 

Our Curriculum Intent

The History curriculum at Oatlands Infant School aims to stimulate and inspire the children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past.  We believe it is important to

start with the child’s own and local History, before exploring British History and that of the wider world. 

Our History curriculum enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity and chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people. 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.  Children will begin to understand how events in the past have influenced our lives today.

History enables our children to use ambitious vocabulary as well as developing skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem solving. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Oatlands Infant School, and also to their further education and beyond.