Humanities is all about who we are, where we come from, and the impact we can have on the world around us. We wish to encourage our children to be curious and to ask questions about their local, national and global community. Our children will develop a range of skills so that they have a strong understanding of the history and geography of the British Isles and South London’s place within it and the wider world.
At Heber School, History and Geography are central to the celebration of diversity and allowing children to understand the push and pull factors that have prompted migration in different places and times, but especially into and out of the British Isles. We want our children to have an experience of diverse cultures, representing the diverse origins of the pupils themselves. Pupils’ assumptions will be explored and their horizons broadened. We want our pupils to consider questions of social justice and inequality and how these issues have affected people in the past, present and future. It is also important for children to understand the impact and responsibility they have for our local, national and global environment.
Children have one immersion day per term which is an entire day of teaching. Activities should be designed to address objectives from across the curriculum.
Each humanities topic has History and Geography objectives. Some topics are weighted towards one subject more than the other, but subject leaders have ensured that subject weighting is balanced across the year through the progression of skills document and the curriculum map. Teachers are given time to create a medium term plan each term to ensure appropriate coverage. This MTP details prior learning ensuring that new learning build upon prior learning, embedding long term understanding of knowledge and skills.
History and Geography progression maps show progression across the year group and in relation to other year groups. They also detail how skills repeated in different year groups are built upon to ensure progression. It is expected that teachers refer to them to identify prior knowledge.
For full details of the topic areas cored in our History and Geography curriculum, please see the Curriculum Overview.