Dear Sir, We were collectively pleased to note the emphasis that has been given to good subject knowledge within the Government's Recruitment and Retention strategy and in the accompanying Early Career Framework. We wholeheartedly agree that developing teachers’ subject knowledge early in their career is essential for developing their expertise as quickly...

It is important that Ofsted responds to teachers' and schools' concerns and thoughts and updates its procedures. That is a key reason why we have been happy to draw together the thoughts of the history teaching community to the recent Ofsted public consultation. Much of what they are proposing to...

For the past ten years, the Historical Association (HA) has worked with the University of Oxford and Reading University to carry out in-depth research on the state of history teaching in schools. These reports have informed decision-makers at the highest level, notably government, Ofsted and examination boards. The reports also...

This teacher’s guide, student booklet and scheme of work for Key Stage 3 can be freely downloaded from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust website here.     The project involved Year 9 students using the names on their local war memorial as the starting point for an investigation which culminated in them writing biographies of...

Following the Department of Education’s recent call for pilot schools to bid for Curriculum Development Funds, the Historical Association (HA) sought clarification specifically connected to disciplinary understanding. Within the guidance, the DfE sets out its criteria for programmes, one of which is that they should be structured on the basis of...

The government has reformed GCSE qualifications in England to make them more demanding. You can find out more about the new GCSEs here or by watching this short video. By 2020, all GCSEs in England will be graded using numbers instead of letters. The new grading scale runs from 9 to...

Each year we offer young people the chance to be rewarded for their own creativity. The Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition encourages young people to write their own fiction within a historical setting of their choice.   The competition helps them to develop knowledge of a specific time period and...

The Oral History Society's Schools and Young People Group has developed A Guide to Oral History for Schools and Youth Groups. This important set of resources is designed to support teachers and anyone working with young people on oral history projects. Oral history is a living history of everyone’s unique life experiences, and so is...

‘Away from the Western Front’ has launched two national projects and is offering everyone a chance to make a contribution to this First World War centenary commemoration. A National Music project and a Creative Writing Competition are part of the Heritage Lottery funded First World War 'Away from the Western...