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Extending the curriculum: why should we consider ‘value added’?
Primary History article
While the focus provided by the new Ofsted framework has allowed schools to begin to, perhaps, rebalance the curriculum, the time allocated to the foundation subjects is still fairly marginal in many schools. This means that hard decisions have to be taken about what to include and what to leave...
Extending the curriculum: why should we consider ‘value added’?
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Progression without Levels
Briefing Pack
"As part of our reforms to the national curriculum , the current system of ‘levels' used to report children's attainment and progress will be removed. It will not be replaced." (DfE 2013)
When National Curriculum levels were removed in 2014, it was all too easy to fall into the trap of...
Progression without Levels
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Developing early history skills and understanding through the EYFS
Primary History article
Read more like this:
EYFS scheme of work
EYFS Medium term plan: Toys and Games
Early Years Foundation Stage (article)
Early Years: learning about the past (article)
Using 'Development Matters' in the Foundation Stage (article)
For many children, going to nursery school is a key part of their day. It...
Developing early history skills and understanding through the EYFS
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Teaching sensitive subjects: slavery and Britain’s role in the trade
Primary History article
See also:
Teaching Slavery - HA guide
Slavery in Britain
Sarah Forbes Bonetta - scheme of work
Teaching Emotive and Controversial History
Diversity guidance for primary teachers and subject leaders
Slavery is a part of our history, and its impact can be seen in the statues of influential men, the...
Teaching sensitive subjects: slavery and Britain’s role in the trade
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Turning technology: making life better in Iron Age Britain
Primary History article
See also:
Stone Age to Iron Age - overview and depth
Stone Age to Iron Age - scheme of work
Our Iron Age challenge
Iron Age Farm - film
So who were the people living in Britain in the Iron Age?
The Iron Age describes the period in Britain when...
Turning technology: making life better in Iron Age Britain
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Subject leaders: The importance of subject knowledge
Primary History feature
By now, we should be used to hearing the term ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ as this has been a focus of the government for some time now. The new Ofsted inspection framework mentions the expectation to ‘develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum’ several times within intent, implementation and impact sections....
Subject leaders: The importance of subject knowledge
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Making the most of a census
Primary History article
This article looks at how children can utilise and manipulate mathematical data to make sense of a historic past. The focus is on helping children see the numbers as a resource for understanding the experiences of those that lived in this place.
Aim: Understand historical concepts such as continuity and...
Making the most of a census
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One of my favourite history places: Meldon Viaduct
Primary History feature
'One of my favourite history places' is a regular feature in Primary History – see all favourite history places here. In this edition, Tim Lomas explores Meldon Viaduct and its surroundings:
Visiting places you have read about or seen pictures of can sometimes prove an anticlimax. Others far exceed expectations. One such is...
One of my favourite history places: Meldon Viaduct
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Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Death is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues that teachers encounter, linked inextricably as it is to identity. I think it sometimes escapes our attention that, as teachers of history, we constantly deal...
Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
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The creative history curriculum
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Do you give in to bullying, stay loyal to your leader, admit your actions, betray your neighbours, challenge discrimination or just keep quiet? These were the issues faced by Year 4 children at East...
The creative history curriculum
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Here come the Vikings! Making a saga out of a crisis
Primary History Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
What are your first impressions when you think of Alfred the Great? Perhaps it's the story of the heroic individual being humbled by burning the cakes or for those of a certain age, it may...
Here come the Vikings! Making a saga out of a crisis
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Primary history through the secondary school lens
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Trying to explain what pupils at primary school should know and understand about history to help their progress at secondary school is an extremely tricky question to answer (so thanks Jon!). Ultimately there are...
Primary history through the secondary school lens
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History and the early years: A view from the classroom
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History gives colour and vitality to the curriculum. There are just so many engaging things to do. Without history there wouldn't be so much fun; whether in handling objects such as: the old wooden toys,...
History and the early years: A view from the classroom
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History, values education & PSHE
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
The core values which are supposed to underpin the curriculum are generally taught through discrete personal, social and health education lessons and developed through classroom ethos. Yet history has at its heart the ways...
History, values education & PSHE
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Primary History Survey Report 2012
Primary Survey
History in Primary SchoolsIn June the Secretary of State announced that history would remain a compulsory part of the primary curriculum from age 5 to age 11. We welcomed that announcement but urged a note of caution regarding slimmed down programmes of study. The Survey into History in English Primary...
Primary History Survey Report 2012
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Emerging historians in the outdoors
Primary History article
I love history and I love the outdoors. I often find myself wondering who has walked down the same worn cobbled path, or climbed the same rickety stile. I am intrigued about a toy car I found in the garden, and speculate about who it might have belonged to. I...
Emerging historians in the outdoors
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Getting to grips with concepts in primary history
Primary History article
Perhaps one of the most perplexing aspects of teaching history is the fostering of conceptual understanding. History subject leaders often find this a challenging issue. Even if they have a decent grasp themselves, it can be difficult for others in the school who have to teach the subject.
Over recent...
Getting to grips with concepts in primary history
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Using a house for your local history study
Primary History article
A house can be an extremely effective focus for learning about the past, giving us insights into changes to domestic and social life. We can explore how different inventions (e.g. electric lighting, washing machines, televisions) have changed the way we live, and we can look at some of the ways...
Using a house for your local history study
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Using the back cover image: painted wooden police truncheon
Primary History feature
This painted wooden police truncheon dates from the reign of King William IV (1830–37). It is decorated with a crown and the letters WIVR, standing for King William IV. For some pupils, its function may be obvious, for others it may be mistaken for a rounders or baseball bat, or...
Using the back cover image: painted wooden police truncheon
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Curriculum Mapping at Key Stage 2
Curriculum Map
The revised National Curriculum for history published on July 8th 2013 contains new content and possibly greater coverage that may find schools needing to map out what they cover and when more closely. The following list defines the topics that must be taught. Following this are some suggestions as to how...
Curriculum Mapping at Key Stage 2
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Scheme of Work: Significant Individuals at Key Stage 1: Ibn Battuta
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 1 History (unresourced)
The history programme of study for Key Stage 1 requires pupils to be taught about: 'The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some of whom should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods.'
In this unit, children are...
Scheme of Work: Significant Individuals at Key Stage 1: Ibn Battuta
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Scheme of Work: Ancient Greece
Scheme of Work, Key Stage 2 History (unresourced)
In this unit children use a range of sources to find about the life and achievements of the Ancient Greeks.
Through their investigations they find out about the city states of Athens and Sparta, warfare and seamanship, everyday life, beliefs, culture, and through Greek mythology, some of the key events...
Scheme of Work: Ancient Greece
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Riding along on my pushbike… exploring transport in EYFS
Primary History article
There is a myriad of opportunities for exploring the history of travel and transport in Early Years. You could focus on the Montgolfier brothers’ hot air balloon flight in the late eighteenth century, the invention of steam trains and motor cars in the nineteenth century, or even the space race...
Riding along on my pushbike… exploring transport in EYFS
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Trade and pilgrimage in the Abbasid Caliphate
Primary History article
The Abbasid Caliphate stretched from North Africa across to Afghanistan and the North West Frontier. Within the caliphate there were movements of people, goods and ideas. The golden period of this early Islamic caliphate was around 900 AD. As the caliphs were building a major trading empire across the Middle...
Trade and pilgrimage in the Abbasid Caliphate
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Tracking pupil progress
Primary History article
Assessment issues crop up with regularity in the pages of this journal. They have also been mentioned frequently in inspections and in the schools assessed for the Quality Mark.
The problem with some of the recommendations is that they anticipate massive amounts of time and energy being devoted to it...
Tracking pupil progress
