At Stoke St Gregory, history is taught as a journey through time, people, and places—where children explore the past through compelling narratives, critical enquiry, and meaningful connections to their locality and the wider world. 

The curriculum is structured around substantive threads—civilisation, innovation and legacy, invasion and empire, and local history. These threads provide coherence and continuity, allowing children to make links between historical periods and their own locality. For example, the legacy of Saint Gregory and the heritage of Stoke St Gregory are explored in relation to broader historical perspectives, helping children understand their place in history. 

Big Questions 

Each unit is driven by ‘Big Questions’ that spark curiosity and guide enquiry. These questions evolve into core substantive learning points, helping children to understand key historical concepts. These threads run through the curriculum, allowing children to revisit and deepen their understanding over time. 

We break down these big ideas into smaller, concise units to support knowledge retention and comprehension. Lessons are carefully sequenced to reduce cognitive load and build a coherent understanding of the world that came before them. 

Children access and develop disciplinary knowledge through a variety of media—artefacts, visual sources, digital tools, and historical texts. They learn to “be historians” by asking questions, interpreting evidence, and understanding the significance of cause and consequence, continuity and change. These skills are explicitly taught and revisited across year groups to build mastery. 

Our narrative, enquiry-based approach is central to pedagogy. We use historical accounts and enquiry-based learning to promote critical thinking and historical reasoning through asking questions, investigating sources and drawing conclusions. This helps children make emotional and intellectual connections, fostering empathy and deeper understanding. This approach is supported by cross-curricular links. 

Substantive Threads

Our history curriculum is built around powerful substantive threads that help pupils make meaningful connections across different periods, places, and cultures. These threads are carefully woven throughout each year group and are deliberately revisited as children encounter new historical contexts, allowing them to deepen their understanding throughout their time at Stoke St Gregory.

Through the thread of Civilisation, pupils explore how early societies grew and influenced the world we live in today. Our Invasion and Empire thread helps children understand how expanding nations and conflict have shaped societies across the globe. The Innovation and Legacy thread highlights how inventions, ideas, and technological developments have evolved and impacted our modern lives. Finally, our Local History thread shows pupils the rich heritage of Stoke St Gregory, enabling them to recognise how national and global events have shaped their community.

By continually revisiting these core threads, pupils build a coherent, connected story of the past and develop a secure understanding of history.

Trips and visits 

We enrich learning through educational visits in each class. These trips provide immersive experiences that connect classroom learning to real-world contexts particularly in the local area, deepening children’s understanding and engagement. 

Ultimately, history at Stoke St Gregory Primary School is a journey where children travel through time, encounter diverse people and places and build a deep, connected understanding of the past. Through thoughtful planning, adaptive teaching, and a rich narrative approach, we ensure every child can access, enjoy, and succeed in history.