In July I was invited by the University of Nottingam Primary Education Network to talk to speak with our primary partnership colleagues about history teaching and the implications of Ofsted’s History Research Review.
I approached this task with some trepidation – I am not a primary phase specialist and am acutely aware of the distinct and important role primary teachers play in a child’s education before they ever reach the secondary phase. I do not, therefore, claim to have expertise in this phase. Instead I was hoping simply to reflect on the research review and also to introduce the foundational ideas that lie behind the discipline of history as a school subject. Many other people have written about this far more eloquently and expertly than me, and I would strongly recommend following up with primary history specialists – membership of the Historical Association and their Primary History journal would be the best place to start!
Following the PEN my wonderful Primary Phase colleague, Rachel Peckover, wrote a blog summarising the presentation and the key takeaways she felt were most helpful for primary colleagues.
You can read the write up of this presentation HERE.
We hope it is supportive for non-specialist primary colleagues trying to make sense of the history curriculum.
I would also like to add thanks to Ailsa Fidler who generously allowed me run some ideas past her as I developed the session.
Becoming a History Teacher 