History and Geography at Hiltingbury Infant School

At Hiltingbury Infant School we aim to ignite a curiosity within the children about their lives and the world around them through topics that have a strong History and Geography basis.

We encourage the children to become Independent Researchers by asking their own questions and learning the skills to be able to find out information for themselves.

Year R

In the Foundation Stage (Year R), the children learn about themselves and their own family history. They become their own detective and piece together the pieces of their own past! This allows them to become familiar with the current time period and relate it directly to themselves, helping to establish their own identity. The children explore the local area and amenities available to them in Hiltingbury, stimulating interest in their surroundings.

Year 1

During Year 1, topics such as ‘All Aboard’ and ‘Zoom About’ enable the children to explore how people’s lives, including their own, change over time. The topics are launched with exciting ‘buzz’ activities such as a visit from the Open Box Theatre Company and trips to Southampton Sea City Museum and Beaulieu Motor Museum. Here they find out about the lives of significant people and events from the past, including significant local events from the past. History becomes ‘hands on’ and interactive, prompting the children to continue their own learning pathways and find out more once they return to school.

Year 1 children also become adventurers during their ‘Explorers’ topic to discover the names of the oceans and continents around the world. They use maps, atlases and globes to find out about human and physical features of their own locality and contrasting localities around the world. Here, the children are encouraged to continue researching about a particular explorer at home, sharing their findings at the ‘Explorers Day’ event with the other children in their year group.

Year 2

Children at Hiltingbury Infant School develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others as they enter Year 2. Learning experiences are made enjoyable, motivating and exciting through the introduction of topics such as ‘Castles and Knights’ and ‘Ahoy There’. With trips to Arundel Castle and Portsmouth Dockyard during the year, the children participate in active learning as History is brought to life! They use the internet and other digital sources to find out about significant issues, events and people that are of interest to them and begin to use timelines to places people and events.

Within Geography, the children enter into discussions about the similarities and differences between their own locality and other places in the UK and beyond. Here, the teachers provide a range of challenging and open ended possibilities, encouraging all the children to participate and explain their own point of view. The children explore issues of justice, rights and responsibilities in their own contexts as well as issues affecting the wider world, prompting some exciting debates and discussions!

History and Geography at Hiltingbury Infant School creates successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve. It fires children’s curiosity and imagination about who we are, where we have come from, where we live and where we might be going next…