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Building a local history and geography toolkit
Primary CPD in partnership with the Geographical Association
19 June 2026
Book Now
In person: Historical Association, 59a Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4JH
The Curriculum and Assessment Review places emphasis on fieldwork in geography and learning about events through local history. This does not need to mean expensive trips to specific sites. There is a great deal...
Building a local history and geography toolkit
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The Historian 166: Crime and Punishment
The magazine of the Historical Association
This edition of The Historian is free to access for all HA members. Find out about membership here.
Contents
5 Editorial (Read article)
6 Coroners, communities, and the Crown: mapping death and justice in late medieval England – Stephanie Emma Brown (Read article - open access)
11 Mercurial justice: a...
The Historian 166: Crime and Punishment
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Your Primary CPD calendar Summer 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 primary teachers and subject...
Your Primary CPD calendar Summer 2026
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Viking traders
Lesson Plan (KS2)
Please note: this lesson was produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. It is part of a full sequence of lessons available here.
Enactive learning - a Viking trading game to help children understand the full variety of Viking life and culture. They were so...
Viking traders
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Podcast Series: William I to Henry VII
Multipage Article
An HA Podcasted History featuring Professor David Bates and Professor Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia, Dr Philip Morgan of Keele University, Professor Mark Ormrod of the University of York, Dr James Davis of Queens University Belfast, Professor Michael Hicks of the University of Winchester, Dr Sean Cunningham of...
Podcast Series: William I to Henry VII
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Roman Baths
Lesson Plan
Please note: this lesson was produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. It is part of a full sequence of lessons available here.
The account tells how we recreated a Roman bath house in the Reception/Year 1 classroom during a ten-week unit learning about...
Roman Baths
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Young Quills 2026
Young Quills 2026 Competition submissions
Each year, the Historical Association runs Young Quills, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults (14+). The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition, which was 2025 for the 2026 competition.
Our...
Young Quills 2026
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Virtual Branch Recording: The cultural world of Elizabethan England
Article
In this Virtual Branch talk Professor Emma Smith provides a preview of her current research, which explores the lives and cultural undercurrents of Elizabethan England. What was influencing their cultural tastes and how much of it was new, or had it all been seen before?
Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare...
Virtual Branch Recording: The cultural world of Elizabethan England
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Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings Lessons
Lesson Plans
Please note: these lessons were produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum.
This resource 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...
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings Lessons
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Teaching the Assyrians for KS2
Pamphlet
Assyria was one of the Great Powers of the Ancient World. (They have been called the 'Romans of the East'.) From the early ninth to the lat seventh century BC they played an important part in history. At the heigh of their power the Assyrians controlled a vast area from...
Teaching the Assyrians for KS2
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Virtual Branch Recording: Locating and Mapping the Jews of Medieval Lincoln
Article
As part of a project to identify and write biographies of all of the Jews of the medieval Lincoln Jewry, Natasha Jenman, Luka Liu, and Josh Outhwaite have been working on records of Jewish property ownership in the city across the thirteenth century. This allows them to identify those individuals who will be...
Virtual Branch Recording: Locating and Mapping the Jews of Medieval Lincoln
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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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An Outline History of Benin for KS2
Pamphlet
This outline history of Benin gives a chronological picture of the history and society of Benin. The period covered commences in the first millennium AD, or possibly earlier, and ends in the 1990s. However, this document was written in response to the inclusion of Benin within the National Curriculum for...
An Outline History of Benin for KS2
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Film: Gorbachev - Domestic Reform
Film Series: Power and authority in Russia and the USSR
Emeritus Professor Archie Brown explains how Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 and describes the domestic and international situation the USSR found itself in at this point of the Cold War.
He discusses Gorbachev's political and economic agenda and priorities, looks at the support and...
Film: Gorbachev - Domestic Reform
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Recorded webinar: Helping primary students understand climate change
Article
How might we integrate a focus on our relationship with the natural world through time in our existing curriculum? Why should we teach about key turning points in human history that have shaped this relationship in profound ways? What is history's role in explaining how we got to this point? ...
Recorded webinar: Helping primary students understand climate change
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Before 1066 & All That: Transition between KS2 & KS3
HA Guide
This e-cpd unit models how primary and secondary teachers of history might improve transition between KS2 and KS3 through collaboration on a transition unit aimed at Year 6 pupils on the Vikings.
It contains original teaching and training materials written by Andrew Wrenn, former Cambridgeshire Humanities Advisor and funded as...
Before 1066 & All That: Transition between KS2 & KS3
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The Maya: a 4,000-year-old civilisation in the Americas
Primary History article
Obscured by the fame of the Aztec empire or shrouded by a veil of mystery, the cultural history of the Maya has generally been misunderstood by the British public. Maya civilisation developed in a territory the size of Germany and Denmark together (nearly 400,000 km2). This vast territory shows three...
The Maya: a 4,000-year-old civilisation in the Americas
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Ufton Court
Visit
Ufton Court, an Elizabethan Grade 1 Manor House between Reading and Newbury, is an inspirational centre for schools. The Ufton team lead residential and day visits for KS2 that aim to give children a passion for history.
Find out more: https://www.uftoncourt.org.uk/
Ufton Court
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Film: Discussion: What global events influenced the Civil Rights Movement?
Film series: The African-American Civil Rights Movement
Professor Tony Badger, Professor Joe Street and Professor Brian Ward discuss the African-American Civil Rights movement and examine different ways we might interpret the significance of key individuals, groups, institutions and events that played a role in its development and progress.
The Civil Rights movement in the US was affected...
Film: Discussion: What global events influenced the Civil Rights Movement?
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Film: Discussion: The post Civil Rights era
Film series: The African-American Civil Rights Movement
Professor Tony Badger, Professor Joe Street and Professor Brian Ward discuss the African-American Civil Rights movement and examine different ways we might interpret the significance of key individuals, groups, institutions and events that played a role in its development and progress.
In this final section the activities of the key individuals...
Film: Discussion: The post Civil Rights era
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Creativity in teaching and learning at the Geffrye Museum
Article
Learning and education has always been an essential and central part of the Geffrye museum's purpose. Twice winners of the highly prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education, most recently in 2012, our professional learning team works with a broad range of audiences to develop and deliver a wide variety of...
Creativity in teaching and learning at the Geffrye Museum
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The Vikings in Britain: a brief history
Reference guide for primary
Viking Age | In Britain: background | Short history | King Alfred | Later raids & rulers | Key concepts
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This resource is free for 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...
The Vikings in Britain: a brief history
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Young Historian Awards 2026 – take part (Primary prizes)
History competition for primary schools
The 2026 competition is now open. Entries close on 17 July 2026 (3 July for overseas entries).
We want young people to get the bug for writing about history in an interesting and critical way. Each year the Historical Association in collaboration with the Spirit of Normandy Trust and Classics for All offers a...
Young Historian Awards 2026 – take part (Primary prizes)
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Get into Teaching
Considering a career in teaching?
Teaching – and especially teaching history! – can be a wonderful and rewarding career. The HA have many years experience working with primary and secondary teachers from trainee level through to heads of history and we're here to help you on your path. We have a comprehensive set of guides and resources for anyone...
Get into Teaching
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Visits and Museums
Primary History article
Introduction
In February (2012) Michael Gove announced that he was awarding English Heritage £2.7m to encourage children to explore local heritage sites. Who could disagree with his view that ‘local historic environments can be used to inspire pupils by bringing history alive'? However, why stop there? Any visit to a...
Visits and Museums