History
We are passionate about History at Woodford Valley and seek to nurture historical curiosity, and an appreciation of our rich and colourful past. Our community is steeped in heritage, with the Stonehenge World Heritage site at one end and the medieval city of Salisbury at the other. Our academy status, allows our studies to be innovative and imaginative, inspired by the expertise on our doorstep.
We believe history is important because it teaches us about the past in Britain and the wider world. It helps us to find out what past societies were like, how they were organised and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. History helps us to develop a chronological framework for our knowledge of significant events and people in the past and encourages us to discover how these have influenced our lives today. Through the study of history we develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on our historical heritage. We learn to value and respect our own and other people’s cultures in modern Britain.
While studying history, children learn to research the past, find and use relevant evidence for their focus of enquiry and communicate their findings, putting forward their own point of view. All these activities use skills important in daily life. We recognise the value and importance of stories in history and we regard this as an important way of stimulating interest in the past. We focus on helping children to understand that historical events can be interpreted in different ways and that they should always ask searching questions about information they are given, such as ‘How do we know?’, ‘Who/what is the source?’, ‘Is the source reliable?’ Children consider social, cultural, economic and other factors which have impacted on past civilisations, empires, places and peoples inspiring hope and wisdom through enquiry.
We intend to develop children’s understanding and respect of world history, through class-based topics and whole school topics for example exploring different aspects of Black History during Black History Month each year. We took part in the Magna Carta celebrations in 2015, and through ‘100 Years Ago’ marked the momentous anniversary of the First World War.
In 2019 we implemented History with a school wide mini museum project; enabling children and parents to explore our school museum showcasing History and Geography topic work from all year groups.
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At Woodford Valley we bring the past to life through workshops and visits to places of relevant and historical interest. These include Salisbury Cathedral, a Victorian Christmas at Beaulieu and Cadbury World.
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| Learning about some of the medieval building materials and methods in Salisbury Cathedral. | Having a go at Stone masonry in Salisbury Cathedral – using tools which haven’t changed for years. | Year 5 at Cadbury World. |
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| Wilsford class enjoyed handling and looking at Victorian artefacts | Lower Woodford class looking at artefacts from Churchfields Dairies – learning about Milk production in the 1960s. | Lower Woodford class exploring original artefacts from Churchfields Dairies. |
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| Each class researched and produced a display about a different aspect of life in Salisbury in the 1960s. These were displayed in Salisbury Library as part of the Rotary Club of Salisbury Centenary Celebrations. |
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