History
History – Miss A. Bridgman
At Cotteridge School, we believe that history helps children understand the world around them and their place within it. Through a carefully sequenced curriculum, pupils develop a rich understanding of the past while learning to think, question and investigate like historians.
Our curriculum is built around four substantive Golden Threads that run from Nursery to Year 6:
Civilisation
Children explore how people lived, worked, worshipped and organised themselves in different societies across time.
 Empire
Children investigate how people, societies and nations expanded their influence through exploration, conquest, migration and settlement.
Trade and Industry
Children examine how farming, trade, technology and industry have shaped communities and changed the way people live.
 Governance
Children develop an understanding of leadership, power and decision making, from local leaders and monarchs to democracy and government.
These Golden Threads enable pupils to make connections across different periods of history and build increasingly sophisticated historical understanding as they move through the school. For example, children begin by learning about important people who influence change in Key Stage 1 before progressing to the study of pharaohs, kings, democracy, the English Civil War and systems of government in Upper Key Stage 2.
Alongside substantive knowledge, pupils develop their understanding of key disciplinary concepts, enabling them to work as historians:
- Chronology – understanding when events happened and placing them within a wider historical timeline.
- Cause and Consequence – exploring why events happened and the impact they had.
- Change and Continuity – identifying what changed and what remained the same over time.
- Similarity and Difference – comparing people, places and societies.
- Historical Enquiry – asking questions, analysing sources and using evidence to form conclusions.
- Historical Significance – understanding why people, events and developments are remembered.
- Historical Interpretation – recognising that different views and accounts of the past can exist.
Our enquiry-led curriculum encourages pupils to investigate carefully constructed historical questions. Through examining artefacts, photographs, maps, written sources and first-hand accounts, children learn how historians build knowledge about the past and how evidence can be used to support different conclusions.
Assessment is carefully designed to support pupils in knowing and remembering more over time. Regular retrieval activities help children revisit previously taught knowledge, while end of unit assessments identify strengths and gaps in understanding. Through spaced retrieval, pupils revisit key learning from previous units and year groups, strengthening long-term memory and supporting progression across the curriculum.
We are particularly proud of our local history curriculum, which helps children develop a sense of identity and belonging within their community. From exploring the history of Cotteridge High Street to investigating the legacy of George Cadbury and Bournville, pupils learn how local history connects to national and global narratives.
Educational visits, visitors and rich historical experiences further enrich our curriculum, bringing the past to life and helping children develop curiosity, empathy and a lifelong love of history.
By the time pupils leave Cotteridge School, they have developed a coherent understanding of Britain’s past and the wider world, alongside the knowledge, skills and curiosity needed to continue exploring history throughout their lives.
