Rationale for KS1 history planning
Of all the key stages KS1, came off lightly from Gove’s reforms of the history curriculum. Gone are the obvious absurdities of the previous version that children should know what is meant by the concept of the ‘nation’ and that Christina Rosetti is a good choice of famous person. Instead we have a more realistic curriculum similar to the previous one, with just one significant change to how famous people are approached. Now it involves a more thematic approach looking at individuals doing work in the same area but at different times in the past. If handled with care this could be beneficial.
There is probably more freedom to decide on your OWN history topics at Key Stage 1 than any other key stage. So it is really important that you carefully think through your curriculum intent not least because this is a major focus for OFSTED’s 2019 Framework inspection from September 2019. You may feel that there is an orthodoxy, hardened considerably by the overuse of old , dry as dust , unmodified QCA schemes, that schools are meant to study: Homes, Toys, Going to the Seaside, The Great Fire
