History
At Norwich Road Academy, we aim to understand that History is about real people who lived and real events which happened in the past. Our key learning phrase is ‘History is where you stand.’
History is concerned with sequence, time and chronology and is the study of evidence about the past. It gives us a sense of identity, set within our social, political, cultural and economic relationships. History at Norwich Road Academy, fires children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world and plays an essential part in preparing children for living and working in the contemporary world. Pupils consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like, how these societies organised their politics, and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. As they do this, children develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people.
The history curriculum at Norwich Road aims to ignite children’s love for history, preparing them with essential knowledge. All history is worth studying, but as we do not have the time to cover everything, the units have been carefully chosen to cover as wide-ranging content as possible without compromising depth. From ancient civilisations and prehistoric Britain to the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement; looking at law and power across the ages to the impacts of industrialisation and technological advances; understanding invasion and migration, exploitation and political movements for freedom and equality. The history curriculum aspires to create curious and knowledgeable young people, who hold a deep understanding and appreciation of the discipline of history and can sift and weigh evidence to begin to formulate their own viewpoints and perspectives of the world.
At Norwich Road academy we hold the firm belief that local history is important to learn as it is central to our identity and promotes community values. Our love of local history is supported by our Heritage Projects and by our House system where we look at the influences of Thomas Paine, Charles Burrell, Edith Cavell and Boudicca within the local area and further afield.
Thetford Heritage Project
Following a successful Heritage Lottery bid by Thetford Town Council, Eastern Multi Academy Trust is both pleased and proud to partner its seven Breckland Primary and Infant Academies with the Guildhall in a new and exciting curriculum programme.
The three-year programme will see pupils work in partnership with the Guildhall and their historians and heritage experts. The project will see the pupils working in year groups studying key historical figures via the true stories that occurred on the sites still present in the town of Thetford.
The Project will be overseen by Amber Pullen, our Schools Liaison and Education Programme Development Officer, who will support both pupils and teachers in the delivery of the programme. The programme intent aims to engage pupils within the history of their local area and home town, with the implementation phase seeing pupils research, respond to and re-communicate the stories of the famous sons and daughters of the town. It is intended that the impact of the programme will see pupils qualify as Thetford History Heroes, able to re-live and re-tell the famous stories for years to come.
Amber has worked in Theatre in Education since graduating from the University of Exeter in 2017. She has facilitated for a number of educational outreach projects in schools across Suffolk and Norfolk and has used theatre as a learning tool whilst performing and teaching English throughout Italy in 2019. With a background in theatre and the performing arts Amber is passionate about creative learning and using the arts to bring the curriculum to life. Amber will deliver the units via the use of high quality and diverse resources, but there are also significant opportunities for exciting site visits, engagement in Drama and Performance workshops which will lead to significant opportunities for extended writing. Unit delivery is organised as follows:
BBC Bitesize is a great resource for a range of video clips, games and activities related to History. The following links will take you some great resources for you and your children to explore. Key Stage 2 (KS2) children are in Year 3, 4, 5 and 6. Key Stage 1 (KS1) children are in Year 1 and 2. Early Years children are in our Nursery and Reception classes.
Early years - England - BBC Bitesize Look in the Knowledge and Understanding of the World section.
Mrs Blackwell is the curriculum lead for History, across the academy.