At Ormiston Meadows Academy, we aim to ignite our pupils’ natural curiosity, promote a love of History; inspire their future ambitions, and develop their own sense of identify within the wider world.
Excellence
· History is taught in a high quality and ambitious way, using a bespoke that inspires students’ curiosity about the past of Britain and the wider world. Our units are planned to inspire, enthuse and intrigue our pupils by regularly using artefacts in lessons; showing children how historians carefully handle objects of significance, fragility and the importance of artefacts to help historians learn about the past.
· We use adaptive teaching strategies to ensure our lessons are accessible to all regardless of abilities, language and prior education. We carefully assess our pupils at the beginning of units allowing teachers to pitch learning at their pupils’ levels.
· The History curriculum is linked to the Careers curriculum in order to give pupils an insight into careers associated with History, which include Historians, Archaeologists, Museum Curators, Educators, Authors, and Palaeontologists.
· Many of our pupils’ transition to Ormiston Bushfield Academy. Whilst designing our approach to teaching History, we’ve looked closely at OBA’s Year 7 curriculum and through our carefully mapped out curriculum, we’re able to begin teaching the substantive and disciplinary skills and knowledge necessary in Year 7.
Respect
· With the ease of accessing information, we’ve found our pupils are bringing a set of ideas and opinions on events of the past. The curriculum we provide encourages our students to become open-minded, broadening and challenging their understanding of history.
· Our pupils are fascinated by the range of our historical artefacts that are used to enhance their understanding of the past. From early on, our pupils learn through regular opportunities to carefully handle, question and discuss artefacts.
· With local connections to Flag Fen and Ferry Meadows, our pupils learn firsthand the history of their location, respecting and appreciating the efforts that our ancestors made and how this has impacted on their lives today.
Self-Worth
· Developing an awareness, understanding, and appreciation of one’s own identity is important for our pupils. Students learn and appreciate their heritage, family history, and the history of the places they live in.
· Our broad and balanced History curriculum allows pupils to learn about their cultural identity through themes, e.g., Remembrance Day, Black History Month and International Women’s Day.
Resilience
· As pupils progress through the curriculum, their knowledge of history can become overwhelming. Through our carefully planned spiral curriculum, students build on the essential knowledge they have already acquired while becoming increasingly confident in learning new material.