History

Why do we teach history at Mersea Island School? 

The aim of history teaching at Mersea Island School is to provide a quality first history education, that inspires in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the history of the local area, and wider world through an enquiry based approach.

Children will explore the life of people who lived in the past, and examine how this affects their lives today.

Our curriculum is carefully designed to:

• Promote interest of the past, and to develop an understanding that enables children to enjoy world history, and their local area.
• To equip with the knowledge of significant events in British history, and to appreciate how things have changed over time.
• To develop a sense of chronology using timelines.
• To know and understand how the British system of a democratic government has developed over time.
• To understand how Britain is part of a wider European culture, and to explore aspects of European history.
• To have some knowledge and understanding of historical development in the wider world.
• To help children understand modern day societies, linking to British Values.
• To equip children with the skills of: enquiry, investigation, analysis, and evaluation.

History at Mersea Island School focuses on enabling children to think as historians. We place an emphasis on giving every child the opportunity to examine and handle historical artefacts and primary sources. In each key stage, we give children the opportunity to visit sites of historical significance, and understand the importance of the children being aware of the history within Mersea Island and Colchester.

We encourage a range of visitors to come into the school and talk about their first hand experiences of events in the past. We recognise and value the importance of stories in history teaching, and we regard this as an important way of stimulating interest in the past.

We undertake local fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives. We use drama, dance and poetry to act out historical events, and focus on helping children to understand that historical events can be interpreted in different ways.