Humanities (geography, history and religious education)
Years 1-2
Children in Key Stage 1 follow the ELAN Year 1 and 2 Curriculum, which inspires children’s interest in the Humanities through the use of storytelling and objects. Children in the mixed Year 1/2 class follow the Year 1 curriculum with some adaptation where necessary.
In the final term of Year 2, children study the first Opening Worlds unit, a history study of the Stone Age. All Year 2 children take part in this unit to prepare them for the new curriculum that they will encounter in Year 3.
Years 3-6: Opening Worlds
The Opening Worlds curriculum, and its associated teaching approaches, secure the highest possible quality of education for pupils. The curriculum follows ten clear pedagogical principles which reflect our best current understanding of how children learn and in particular uses the strength of storytelling to ensure that the deep subject content is learnt and remembered. The material is organised so that pupils use earlier material to access to later material and so that pupils start to see how everything connects within a subject.
The Opening Worlds' team has strongly recommended that the material is taught in sequence because each part makes the next part much more understandable. Numerous words that are explicitly taught and practised in Year 3 are then revisited in lessons in Years 4-6. If children do not have the secure knowledge of the content and vocabulary of the Year 3 curriculum this is likely to slow progress and limit enjoyment. All key stage 2 children, therefore, started with the Year 3 Opening Worlds curriculum in the 2023/24 academic year. In 2025/26, Years 5 and 6 are following the Year 5 curriculum.
History
|
Year group |
Term 1 |
Term 2 |
Term 3 |
Term 4 |
Term 5 |
Term 6 |
|
Year 1 |
Awareness of the past Timetables Technology |
Families and family trees |
Significant individuals in the past |
Significant individuals in the past |
Changes within living memory |
Significant people events and places in our locality |
|
Year 2 |
|
Let’s get moving – A history of transport |
|
Women who changed the world! |
|
Opening Worlds – Stone Age
|
|
Year 3 |
Ancient Egypt |
Cradles of civilisation (Mesopotamia) |
Indus Valley civilisation |
Persia and Greece |
Ancient Greece |
Alexander the Great |
|
Year 4 |
The Roman Republic |
The Roman Empire |
Roman Britain |
Christianity in three empires (300-600BCE) Rome Constantinople Aksum |
Islamic civilisations 1 |
Islamic civilisations 2 |
|
Year 5, 6 |
Islamic civilisations 3 |
Anglo-Saxon Britain |
Vikings in Britain 1 |
Norse culture |
Vikings in Britain 2 |
Local History study |
Geography
|
Year group |
Term 1 |
Term 2 |
Term 3 |
Term 4 |
Term 5 |
Term 6 |
|
Year 1 |
Basic geographical terms for places |
Countries and capitals in the UK |
Countries and capitals in the UK
|
Countries and capitals in the UK
|
Simple compass directions |
Seasons |
|
Year 2 |
Land Ahoy! What is a seaside town? |
|
Wonders of the World Continents of the World Human and Physica |
|
Comparisons- Where in the world? Weather Similarities and differences Is there anywhere like…. In WSM |
|
|
Year 3 |
Rivers |
Mountains |
Settlements |
Agriculture |
Volcanoes |
Climate and biomes |
|
Year 4 |
The Rhine & the Mediterranean |
Population |
Coastal processes & landforms |
Tourism |
Earthquakes |
Deserts |
|
Year 5, 6 |
Why is California so thirsty? |
Oceans |
Migration |
North and South America |
The Amazon |
Interconnected Amazon |
Religion
Actual curriculum taught 2025/26:
|
Year group |
Term 1 |
Term 2 |
Term 3 |
Term 4 |
Term 5 |
Term 6 |
|
Year 1 |
Where do we belong? |
Where do we belong? |
Why is our world special? |
Why is our world special? |
Why is Jesus important? |
Why is Jesus important? |
|
Year 2 |
Where do we belong? |
Where do we belong? |
Why is our world special? |
Why is our world special? |
Why is Jesus important? |
Why is Jesus important? |
|
Year 3 |
Hinduism: Rama & Sita |
Hinduism: More stories |
Living Hindu traditions |
Judaism 1: Abraham, Isaac & Jacob |
Judaism 2: Joseph, Moses & the Exodus |
Judaism 3: The kings, the temple & living as a Jew |
|
Year 4 |
Christianity 1: The family of Jesus |
Christianity 2: The birth of Jesus |
Christianity 3: The life and teaching of Jesus |
Christianity 4: The death & resurrection of Jesus |
Christianity 5: The message of Jesus spreads |
Islam 1: Ramadan |
|
Year 5, 6 |
Islam 2: Stories of the prophets |
Islam 3: Living Muslim traditions |
Christianity 6: Living Christian traditions |
A study of two Christian sites |
Buddhism 1: The prince who became the Buddha |
Buddhism 2: Buddhist stories and teachings |
