Local History

Local history helps children make sense of their immediate world.  However, it is not just a case of bombarding them with local facts.  Good local history involves enquiries that allow children to investigate drawing on their previous historical knowledge and understanding.   It allows them to use interesting local sources including pictorial, artefacts and written and to link with national and even international history.

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  • How local history can bridge the gap...

    Article

    A year on from the 2021 Development Matters and it is now much clearer how the changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, with its emphasis on the role of communities, place, space and histories, has provided greater support for teachers and children to make the transition from the Understanding the...

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  • Scheme of work: Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

    Article

    Children can be introduced to the idea that schools have been in the locality for some time but they have not always been the same. They can look at similarities and differences, as well as be introduced to some of the events that affected the schools. The theme allows children...

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  • What’s in a road? Local history at Early Years and Key Stage 1

    Article

    One of the many amazing things about History is that it can be found in everything; even the smallest or most mundane objects can provide an insight into how life has changed or provide a greater understanding of a different period in time. Late October last year as the light...

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  • Scheme of work: Local history – the story of our High Street

    Article

    Teaching a unit that considers ‘changes within living times’ requires a focus that provides clear evidence of those changes. Children need to be able to identify specific differences as well as recognise relevant similarities. While we all still undertake shopping on a daily or weekly basis the processes involved in...

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  • The Elizabeth cake

    Article

    Hidden away on top of a dusty, battered cupboard in a local primary school were two equally dusty and battered log books. Each has seen better days and each could provide a range of links to local and national history. The log book was one of two found in one...

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  • Using role-play to develop young children’s understanding of the past

    Article

    Unknown, interesting artefacts can really capture a child’s enthusiasm for learning. In the Foundation Stage, children want to use all their senses to explore and play with objects, and so the planning of practical, hands-on activities is important. The activities in this article were completed by Reception children in a...

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  • One of my favourite history places: Bournville

    Article

    One of my favourite places is Bournville Village in the south of Birmingham – every time I go there it feels as if I am entering a different world, away from the noise and bustle of the city. Less than five minutes' walk away from the tourist attraction of Cadbury World is the village...

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  • History outside the classroom at Key Stage 1

    Article

    When thinking about what history means to five- to seven-year-old children, the chances are it is quite a muddle of ideas – from princesses and castles through to dinosaurs and Second World War fighter planes – without a great deal of coherence as to how it all fits together. Learning...

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  • Early Years: Learning about the Past through 'People Who Help Us'

    Article

    'People who help us’ is a popular learning theme in the Foundation Stage. It helps children develop their knowledge of the world around them and understand how they are part of a local and wider community. Aspects of this theme can also provide opportunities for children to develop their understanding...

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  • ‘Not again!’ - an additional viewpoint on using railways

    Article

    ‘Not again!’ I can remember my son muttering as his football thudded against the kitchen wall, ‘I went there in Year 2 and then in Year 4 and now I have to go there again in Year 6.’ He was referring to his school trips to the remains of the gunpowder factories in our village,...

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  • One of my favourite history places: Mount Fitchet Castle

    Article

    Alf Wilkinson explores Mount Fitchet Castle in Essex – one of his favourite history places. As every schoolchild knows, William the Conqueror landed near Hastings in 1066, pursuing his claim to the throne of England. He was accompanied by the pope’s blessing, but also by an army of adventurers who...

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  • Local history and a sense of identity

    Article

    The history co-ordinator often finds some real challenges as well as opportunities in addressing local history in primary schools. The advantages are well rehearsed – making history relevant to the lives of the children and giving them an improved sense of identity and place through engagement with the ‘real thing’....

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  • Using original sources

    Article

    Why would I want those old books in my classroom? It has always been recognised that good primary history is able to connect the past with the world the children currently inhabit. That is why focusing on schools can be so useful. If there is one experience the children have...

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  • Primary Scheme of Work: Local History

    Article

    Unit for Key Stage 1: Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality (the school and its community)  Children can be introduced to the idea that schools have been in the locality for some time but they have not always been the same. They can look at similarities...

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  • What makes good local history?

    Article

    Everywhere has a past and learning how to capitalise on that for primary history can be both rewarding and challenging. Not only are aspects of the local area's history a requirement in their own right at both key stages, but these aspects can also help to tell the national story,...

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  • What your local Archive Service can offer to schools

    Article

    Imagine a place where your pupils become detectives working on mysteries from the past such as the tale of Thomas Sargeant, a 15-year-old factory worker who died in a chemical works in 1898. Your local archive is bursting with stories about real people like this which can give children an...

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  • Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes

    Article

    Upon approaching this article on teaching the local history component of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 I decided to focus on one school, to look at what they normally deliver, and to put forward suggestions that could be used to enhance their existing unit of study. I visited Pencoys...

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  • Local People and Places in the Early Years

    Article

    Learning in the Early Years through Local People and Places: developing historical concepts in the Early Years Foundation Stage Using the local environment as a starting point for historical learning in EYFS not only helps young children engage and make learning meaningful and relevant, but also helps them develop a strong sense of identity. Working...

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  • From Home to the Front: World War I

    Article

    Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...

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  • Using 'Development Matters' in the Foundation stage

    Article

    Using ‘Development Matters' to plan learning for history in the Foundation stage You won't find the term history in the Early Years curriculum framework at all. That being so, it can be difficult to know how best to support our Nursery and Reception colleagues when developing historical understanding within the...

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