Focus History National Curriculum Coverage

The Focus History National Curriculum Coverage Map provides a comprehensive guide to the historical topics covered at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, ensuring that pupils gain a broad understanding of both British and world history. At Key Stage 1, Year 1 and Year 2 students explore a variety of subjects including castles, significant people from Manchester, grandparents, famous people and events, the Great Fire of London, the Victorians, and Black History. The curriculum aligns with national standards by focusing on changes within living memory, events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally, the lives of significant individuals who have contributed to national and international achievements, and significant historical events, people, and places in their own locality.

For Key Stage 2, the curriculum is divided across four years, covering a wide range of historical periods and themes. Year 3 and Year 4 students delve into the Ancient Greeks, Stone Age, home life through various ages, local history, Egyptians, Romans, Crime and Punishment, and the Indus Valley civilization. The study extends to Year 5 and Year 6, where pupils learn about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, Gunpowder Plot, Mayans, Islamic Civilisation, Slavery, the British Empire, the Windrush generation, and World War 2. These topics help students develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of history, understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, and create structured accounts of the past. The curriculum ensures that students know and understand the history of the British Isles in a coherent, chronological narrative and comprehend how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.