Keep Calm and Carry On!Amanda Moore

Katy Melville

Education Officers Warrington Museum and Art Gallery

Reaction so far• In July emailed five Heads of our regular user schools for feedback re the

proposals and if they would be changing their history curriculum• Feedback varied-one indicated that content in humanities had been stream-

lined already, another history in a state of flux & teachers concerned re changes, another that adaptations as the year progressed but no major changes, another has developed a new curriculum map for history and geography tying into new curriculum

• All keen to have our support, would benefit staff• Met Senior Advisor in Warrington (Warrington LEA in a rare position of still

having several advisors) said that Warrington schools are strongly committed to a creative, skills driven curriculum and that

many Heads will ignore the new orders especially for the non core subjects. So advised us to not panic or react too quickly!

An overview of National Curriculum History

In Key Stage 1 there are FOUR subject content areas

In Key Stage 2 there are NINE subject content areas

Four areas are prescribed and take British History chronologically from Stone Age to 1066. Within each area there is no expectation of coverage, just several non-statutory examples

Two areas are non-prescriptive, one a local study and the other national in focus from 1066

Three areas are prescribed World History areas with specific choices but no statutory coverage

Key Stage 1 History

Subject Content Warrington’s Offer

(Current and potential)

Changes within living memory Grandparents toys and 1950s/60s Kitchen/Time Tunnel gallery, “Seaside holidays in the Past” session

Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally

Jubilees, anniversaries of World Wars

Lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements

Compare Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth- clothing, household artefacts, differences between rich and poor

William Shakespeare

Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

Our museum building- 1840s/50s, Manchester Ship Canal, Railways & Bridges, Ossie Clark fashion designer, Lewis Carroll, role of Burtonwood Airbase, Town Hall (1755) and development of Bridge Street

Key Stage 2 HistorySubject Content Warrington’s Offer

Changes in Britain from Stone Age to Iron Age New session using existing material & local finds (St Philips idea to relate to “Stig of the Dump”)

The Roman Empire & its impact on Britain Existing session with local finds & Roman legionary soldier loan box

Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots x

The Viking & Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor

x

A local history study In depth focus of any area above, Civil War, Bridge Street, Railways, Manchester Ship canal, Industrial Revolution, Town Hall (1755), Museum & neighbouring buildings, South Lancs regiment & street names

A study of an aspect or theme in British History that extends chronological knowledge beyond 1066

Portraiture- paintings in gallery & use by Elizabeth 1 (St Philips CE Primary idea), Dissolution of Monasteries (Friary in Warrington), Leisure (include local customs such as Walking Day & existing seaside session), Victorian Childhood (school loan), Transport, WW1 and WW2

The achievements of the earliest civilisations- overview & in depth- Ancient Sumer, Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt, Shang Dynasty

Ancient Egypt- established session within World Cultures gallery

Ancient Greece-study of Greek life & influence on western world Use existing loan box & develop a town trail looking at legacy within architecture

A non-European society that provides contrast with British history- one from early Islamic, Mayan and Benin (AD 900)

Benin bronzes

Freedom!

• Choice in two areas (local study and national theme)

• Scope to keep old favourites (Tudors, Victorians & World War 2) but develop a more honed (reduce coverage) thematic focus

• Flexibility for schools to decide the depth of a study- a “light touch” may be all that some schools opt for eg. a homework task, an Assembly or a literacy task

Skills Across the Curriculum

History feeds into the development of:

Reasoning skillsArticulating responses

Developing a critical mindForming opinions & challenging ideas

Using observation skillsDevising valid questions

Using a range of sources to build up knowledgePresentation of information and ideas

What can museums/sites offer schools?

The WOW factor (loans and visits) for a Learning Challenge driven curriculum where children initiate & steer learning through their own questions/enquiry- RE-ENERGISE topic based learning

Reassurance, guidance & direction for teachers that a chosen theme is a “valid” interpretation of an area (teachers can cling to non-Statutory guidance)

Advice for clusters of schools in authorities where there are no subject specialist advisors- Breakfast Briefing for Heads/Senior Leaders in Warrington- Deputy Heads usually have responsibility for the curriculum

Artefacts & archive material supports all AIMS/KEY SKILLS in History and across all curriculum areas

Specific intervention projects- use Pupil Premium funding (£900 per child who has been in receipt of free school meals in the last 6 years- set to rise)- literacy programmes, behaviour etc

Other Curriculum Areas• Science- very specific, detailed progression of content for each year group. Identified

three aspects we offer sessions for- Yr 3 Rocks and Fossils, Year 4 Teeth & Diet, Year 6 Evolution & Inheritance

• Art & Design- content slimmed dramatically with focus on traditional media- sculpture and painting-in Key Stage 1 “be taught about the work of a range of artists, craft-makers and designers” and Key Stage 2 “be taught about great artists, architects and designers in history”-lots of scope

• Design & Technology- “through evaluation of past and present design & technology, develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world”-lots of scope

• Geography-often studied through history- Seaside Holidays for human/physical geography, Settlement for local history around River Mersey- trade links & natural resources- will fit in well with new prehistory session at Warrington- very general, no order as to when taught

• Music- in Key Stage 2 children “should be taught to develop an understanding of the history of music”- virginal and recording

• In English- Drama techniques such as improvisation, role play and DEBATE mentioned specifically

• PE- Dance has a very sketchy mention within PE- Olympic legacy means £150 million available over next two years to invest in PE/Sport & Dance.

Cultural Education Review 2013

“The arts are the highest form if human achievement. Through art we not only make sense of ourselves and the world, we also make our lives enchanted. Art

allows us to celebrate our common humanity and communicate across boundaries. Artistic endeavour marks us out from the rest of nature as creators

and celebrators of beauty.”(Foreword by RT HON Michael Gove MP and Ed Vaizey MP)

“The new national curriculum will be in schools this autumn for first teaching in 2014. Creating a slimmer, high-quality curriculum in these subjects (cultural)

will improve cultural education as schools and teachers use their new freedoms to design and adapt their provision to match the needs and interests

of their pupils. (museums and art galleries specifically mentioned as part of access to a high quality cultural education) page 37

Ofsted recognises the role the Arts play as a vehicle for raising achievement –especially in disaffected teenagers and in very young learners- BUT no hard data to support/measure the impact of arts programmes- need this to embed

provision. Pupil Premium is being spent on arts programmes and in disadvantaged children accessing cultural visits- schools have to outline

expenditure on website.

The Heritage Schools programme

Part of the Cultural Education Review is this project with English Heritage with £2.7 million invested to 2015. Aims to enable children to spend more time learning outside the

classroom making use of local heritage resources. Two thousand teachers to take part in training programmes across 190 schools to make them confident in making effective

use of local heritage resources in delivering the curriculum.

The THREE aspirations are: Embedding the local historic context within the school’s curriculum

Nurturing children’s pride in where they liveDeveloping children’s understanding of how their local heritage relates to the national

story.

These aspirations may influence what we all provide for schools.

Amanda Moore

New Opportunities

New Workshops

Prehistory

• New content for 2014

• Make use of local collection that is under used

• Can link with KS2 fiction (i.e.. Stig of The Dump)

• Links with KS2 Human and Physical Geography

• Good resources available

Resources

• Historic Environment Records. Held by all Local Authorities.

• Relevant site reports, maps, environmental reports, photographs etc.

• Great examples for creative storytelling like… Boris the Bronze Age Weevil!

Art Support

• Found and met with Arts advisor in WBC

• Discussed funded project using Art in a pilot project with 4 local schools

• Focus on speaking, doing, making and sharing

• Resulting in all participants gaining Arts Award ‘Explore’ Award after I train as an Arts Award Advisor

Art Pilot 2014

• Local emphasis (Local artists and designers)

• Literacy skills (Tours, notebooks, presentation night)

• Pilot to be rolled out to all next year

More Talking please!

• Ofsteds new whole school inspection framework places greater emphasis on cross Curricular Literacy.

• “…in planning and drafting writing in English, for example, should be capable of being extended when the same teacher sets an extended piece of writing in history or geography”

‘Moving English Forward, Ofsted rep. 2012

Re branding what we do

• Explicitly highlight opportunities for writing and speaking / listening within workshops.

• We have stopped using worksheets and moved towards open ended booklets to collect key thoughts, ideas, feelings and facts.

Re Branding what we do

• Instructions for making a clay oil lamp

• Spoken discussions: Should we keep objects form different countries here?

• Writing guides to exhibitions, galleries, the whole museum

• Make and practice a short tour of the art gallery for the class

• Etc. etc.

Contact Details

• Amanda Moore (Wed – Fri)

amoore@culturewarrington.org

• Katy Melville (Mon – Tue)

kmelville@culturewarrington.org