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Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2026 – The winners
The HA’s writing competition for children aged 10-15 years
Telling a story about the events, peoples and places of the past is one of the oldest forms of creating an historical legacy. Those stories help to reveal as well as enrich the past, creating a place for investigation as well as fascination. That is why we want to harness...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2026 – The winners
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It's like they've gone up a year!' Gauging the impact of a history transition unit on teachers of primary and secondary
Teaching History article
Year 7 history teachers frequently bemoan the lack of historical learning in the primary sector. Pupils may be well versed in suffixes and similes, but their study of history can be limited. This group of history teachers decided that things could be different. Not only did they bring enquiry methods...
It's like they've gone up a year!' Gauging the impact of a history transition unit on teachers of primary and secondary
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Your Local Railway: a local history investigation in Key Stage 2
Primary History article
In this article Tim Lomas discusses one of the best resourced themes you can find: your local railway.
Railways make one of the best themes for a historical study. No place has ever been far from a railway station even if Dr Beeching wiped out one-third of the network in...
Your Local Railway: a local history investigation in Key Stage 2
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A view from the Editor’s desk 1997–2006
Primary History article
This article is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Congratulations on the publication of the 100th issue of Primary...
A view from the Editor’s desk 1997–2006
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Teaching history through photographs in the internet and digital age
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Images allow us to step back in time and ask important historical questions such as ‘Were the Victorians just like us?' Growing digitisation and the spread of the internet allow teachers and learners...
Teaching history through photographs in the internet and digital age
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Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
Podcasts
Podcast of the round table discussion available here!The History Matters Annual Conference in May saw the best turnout we've had for some time with a healthy and representative mix of HA members. Our thanks to all those who contributed their time and energy in delivering workshops and lectures. Our afternoon...
Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
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Roman Britain
Classic Pamphlet
This classic pamphlet provides an introduction to Roman Britain, examines the political history, the institutions of Roman Britain, the economic background and the end of Roman Britain. IntroductionThe Roman conquest and occupation of Britain has long been taken as the conventional starting point of English History, and there is a conventional...
Roman Britain
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Using some more unusual sources in the primary classroom
Primary History article
In this article Tim Lomas illustrates how it is valid and creative to go beyond some of the most popular sources used by primary history teachers. He looks at a number of historical enquiries and questions that might be considered as a theme and some sources that might be used....
Using some more unusual sources in the primary classroom
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History is literacy: 'doing history' with written and printed sources
Primary History article
Introduction: English, Literacy & History - The Bullock Report
In 1975 the British government published a very great and wise man, Lord Bullock's report, on the teaching of English. Lord Bullock, a world-class historian, worked closely and intensely with distinguished figures in the teaching of English [literacy]. Lord Bullock, with...
History is literacy: 'doing history' with written and printed sources
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Case Study: Children's questions about historical pictures
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Pictures are an important source of evidence for children to use to find out about the past. They have an immediate impact and children of all ages and abilities find that they have...
Case Study: Children's questions about historical pictures
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She sells seashells by the seashore: teaching Mary Anning at Key Stage 1
Primary History article
Mary Anning was a fascinating individual who would be a purposeful addition to a history curriculum. This article outlines the rationale behind including her as a significant individual but also offers ideas for developing young children’s understanding of historical interpretations.
She sells seashells by the seashore: teaching Mary Anning at Key Stage 1
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Teaching black British history through local archives
Primary History article
The huge benefits that local archives can bring to primary history are explored by Steven Kenyon. He illustrates this with a case study of Lancashire Archives. The central focus is on ways in which local history can support diversity in the curriculum by providing three examples – one for Key Stage...
Teaching black British history through local archives
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On-demand webinar series: AI in primary history
HA webinar series for primary teachers and history subject leaders
What does this series cover?
The proliferation of generative artificial intelligence is transforming education, the economy and society at a blistering pace. In the face of such seismic change, it can feel daunting. Whatever your level of experience with AI, this new webinar series will equip you to make informed...
On-demand webinar series: AI in primary history
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Diagrams in History
Historian article
One of the gifts of the social sciences to history is the use of expository diagrams; but attention is rarely given to the history of diagrams. Maps - schematized representations of locations in spatial relation to one another - can be dated back to Babylonia in the late third millennium...
Diagrams in History
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Helping pupils to view historical film critically
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
Introduction: The teaching potential of film
Films about historical events seem like the nearest thing we can give our pupils to a time machine. In commercial film, the physical appearance of the past has often been carefully researched, thus a snippet from...
Helping pupils to view historical film critically
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On-demand webinar: How might we effectively use AI in primary history?
Webinar series: AI in primary history
Webinar series: AI in primary history
Session 3: How might we effectively use AI in primary history?Presenter: Stuart Tiffany
In this session, Stuart will explore how AI can be beneficial in tackling some of the challenges that face primary history teachers in a time of continued curriculum emphasis. Alongside this, he will...
On-demand webinar: How might we effectively use AI in primary history?
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Case Study: Historical information and the local community
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
The ICT revolution
A paper register, a pink-lined A4 mark book and a written school log book are surely historical artefacts? The transition from paper to digital technology continues, changing the world of the classroom teacher whose working life like mine,...
Case Study: Historical information and the local community
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On-demand webinar: Developing formative and extended writing in primary history
Webinar series: History and literacy: better together
History and literacy: better together
Session 5: Developing formative and extended writing in primary history
This webinar will demonstrate how giving pupils opportunities to write formatively can capture their understanding at given points in a learning episode, helping them to structure their developing thinking and supporting teachers in spotting and...
On-demand webinar: Developing formative and extended writing in primary history
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Update: Disability history
Historian feature
Expansion into new periods and places, new revelations of human diversity and difference, and a rethink of the tools we use to recover the past – disability history is not just thriving but is also exciting, as Daniel Blackie and Alexia Moncrieff demonstrate in their update on the state of...
Update: Disability history
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The digital revolution
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
Developments in information technology continue at an extraordinary pace. Many young children will have little or no idea of what it was like to live in a world without mobile phones, computers and the Internet.
Most children will regularly make use...
The digital revolution
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Your Primary CPD calendar Autumn 2026
News Item
"CPD from the Historical Association is always high quality and provides expert guidance and support."
Primary teachers are expected to be experts in everything. At the HA we know how essential subject-specific CPD can be to support you. That’s why we offer a year-round programme of history training that supports...
Your Primary CPD calendar Autumn 2026
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Teaching Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history
Article
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are the largest minority ethnic group in some communities (and therefore in some schools) in the UK. Yet the past of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller people may rarely be part of history lessons. The result is that pupils of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage may not...
Teaching Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history
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Film: Blood and Iron
Virtual Branch Lecture Recording
Katya Hoyer recently gave a lecture for the HA Virtual Branch on Weltkrieg: the German home front during the First World War and the devastating effects of total war on a divided and insecure society. This talk provides an insight into the First World War that is often overlooked, reminding us that...
Film: Blood and Iron
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Artificial intelligence’s ChatGPT program: a powerful tool for teaching 7- to 11-year-olds history
Primary History article
This article is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
In Jon Nichol’s ‘Voice from the past’, he considers how...
Artificial intelligence’s ChatGPT program: a powerful tool for teaching 7- to 11-year-olds history
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How the Quality Mark for history can support you as a subject leader
Article
Whether you have been a history subject lead for a while or are new to the role, the HA’s Quality Mark (QM) for Primary History can help to support you in developing the subject in your school.
In this guide experienced Quality Mark assessor and primary educator Sue Temple outlines...
How the Quality Mark for history can support you as a subject leader
