This unit is designed as a thematic course looking at the big picture of migration to Britain over time. There are many ways that the course can be adapted to include different content which may be more relevant for the local community around your school. Most of the content described in...

Prior to completing this unit of work, it would be useful for the children to have started to develop an understanding of the substantive concepts of monarchy and royalty through their prior learning. Direct links can be made between studies of specific monarchs and their roles, as well as stories...

Siegfried Sassoon, soldier and poet of the First World War who controversially began to oppose the war after winning awards for bravery, has his entire war diaries digitised and published online by Cambridge University:

Teaching significant individuals remains a key element in Key Stage 1. Significance is an extremely difficult concept to develop with young children, so how do we sow the seeds? This unit looks at just one approach for developing early ideas of significance with young children through the individuals of the...

Charles Darwin: exploring the man behind the beard – studying the lives of significant individuals in the past Studying the life of Charles Darwin is an exciting way to meet the requirement in Key Stage 1 to teach significant individuals. But what do we actually know about him, beyond the...

It is sixty years since the Bristol Bus Boycott highlighted race inequalities and discrimination in the workplace. In this article, Stuart Boydell revisits this watershed moment and considers how the Bristol Bus Boycott could be incorporated into the curriculum today. Sixty years ago, Bristol was at the centre of a...

March 2023 sees the anniversary of a report that had profound significance on social history and which affected many parts of the United Kingdom. There is every chance that it had an effect close to your school especially if you are in a more rural or coastal area. The Beeching...

‘I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves’ – Mary Wollstonecraft The National Curriculum gives the freedom to select any significant individual and many schools have already chosen those outside the commonly-used ones such as Florence Nightingale, Christopher Columbus and Queen Victoria. There is also...

Nina Sprigge reveals two interesting sources that can supplement teaching the Fire of London.   Fire of London: fundraising for refugees The receipt on the back cover provides evidence of national fundraising in 1666. It is touching that people from Cowfold, a little village outside London, cared enough to want to...

Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated. For children history is a story, and a story mainly about people.(Schools Council, 1969, p12) It is interesting that Grant Bage (1999) used this quote to begin his chapter on Making Meaning of Story and History in,...

If you were asked to select just one story which you thought all children should know about British history, what would it be? Would it be Guy Fawkes or Florence Nightingale? The battle of Hastings or Caesar’s invasions? Would you focus on people, events or ways of life? Local or...

This article will demonstrate how to engage children through storytelling and how it can be used to develop their critical understanding of the past. Why story? Despite their common derivation, the words ‘history’ and ‘story’ suggest very different kinds of knowledge, the former carrying overtones of detached understanding of the...

Local history units of study provide teachers with valuable opportunities, but these can also seem daunting. Potential challenges for teachers include the perceived overwhelming scope of the topic, difficulties in developing subject knowledge and knowing where to find resources. However, none of these is insurmountable, if teachers identify a clear learning...

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated Studying famous people at Key Stage One has obviously been an issue for many years and no matter how long you have been teaching the name Florence Nightingale seems to appear as the only famous...

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Our school has no uniform. You can’t predict what most children or teachers will wear from one day to the next. So the children were rather surprised one day in July 1996 when most of...

The Kindertransport, literally ‘children’s transport’, was the rescue operation of almost 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish child refugees to Britain between December 1938 and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.  Many of the Kinder (children) regularly share their experiences in primary schools, where their visit is regarded as...

The events of the last few days appear to have come out of nowhere to many people, especially children. While tensions have existed in the region for some time Russia’s decision to attack Ukraine was without provocation. To have war return in such a way to the edges of Europe...

"Why are you so angry Grace?" Teaching and learning about Grace O'Malley as a significant woman at Key Stage 1 Grace O'Malley was an Irish queen in the Tudor period and her story provides insights about life in Ireland at the time of the Elizabethan conquests. Grace, also known as...

The draft English NC for history highlights the study of ‘significant individuals and people'. Michelle Dexter provides an insight on how to approach this biographical requirement; it also opens up biography as a major genre for pupils to master - augmenting their development of literacy...

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...