Humanities
Geography
Geography enables children to understand places and inspires in them a curiosity to investigate the world and its people.
The geography curriculum at Bushy Hill is based on the National Curriculum for Geography, which covers locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, geography skills and map work. As well as our local area, a range of other places are studied, including the Arctic and Antarctic, the Americas (with a focus on Brazil) and Europe (Greece). In addition, topics like ‘Where Does Our Food Come From’ and ‘Extreme Earth’ enable children to gain a more global dimension. Map skills are built into each topic, using a range of maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping. Furthermore, each year group has a fieldwork focus within the local area, such as a study of the local beauty spot Newlands Corner. During their studies, children are introduced to different environmental issues and will consider the impact and what can be done to help.
On leaving Bushy Hill a successful learner in Geography will:
- Be inspired and curious to find out more about the world and its people.
- Appreciate and respect different cultures and their values.
- Emerge with a broad understanding of the physical and human processes which have formed our world.
- Have an awareness of our locality and its place within the UK and the world.
- Be able to discuss topics of significant environmental importance, such as recycling, sustainability and deforestation.
- Use a range of maps and atlases to locate places (local, national and global) and identify their features.
- Understand the features of maps (keys, symbols, compass points and grid references) - a key life skill.
- Be able to use learnt English and maths skills to communicate their geographical understanding.
- Link their learning in geography to their British values and our Bushy Hill School values.
History
History develops the children’s understanding of the world’s past and how it has shaped the world we live in today.
At Bushy Hill, history is taught through an enquiry-based curriculum, which covers local, British and world history, as required by the National Curriculum. Pupils will place each time period studied within a historical timeline in order to develop their chronological understanding. Starting from their existing knowledge, they will be encouraged to research and question a range of historical primary and secondary sources. They will consider the impact of different time periods, significant events and individuals and their impact on the wider world. As they study, children will develop their understanding of key historical vocabulary. Each topic provides the children with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a period of history through experience days / re-enactments, visitors and trips.
On leaving Bushy Hill a successful learner in History will:
- Have a chronological understanding of UK history from prehistoric times up to the present as well as selected aspects of world history.
- Have developed their understanding of key historical vocabulary (terms such as AD and BC, century, civilisation, empire and invasion).
- Have developed an understanding of what life was like for different groups of people in the periods studied.
- Know about some key figures from different time periods.
- Make links between different historical periods and with the present, looking at similarities, differences, causes, consequences and change.
- Have developed historical enquiry skills by looking at a variety of artefacts (including real artefacts, replicas, photos and images) from each time period that they have studied.
- Have developed historical enquiry skills by looking at both primary and secondary sources of evidence; considering how interpretations of the past have been formed; and ‘weighing up’ different sources.
- Have conducted independent research and constructed their own informed responses.
- Have taken part in experience days, historical re-enactments and learned from visitors and trips.
Humanities Subject Report 2021/22