Hackney New Primary School

Heading up to Lincoln for our introductory conference about local history, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm a primary school teacher, and it's rare to have secondary and primary teachers together. I love teaching history and really appreciated the opportunity to share ideas with colleagues who teach at every key stage, and across the whole country. I work at a newly-established school in Hackney, a diverse borough of contrasts, new and old, rich and poor. I feel at home working in London, having lived all around the world during my childhood. I love the different areas and communities that make up the whole tapestry of the city, as well as the endless opportunities for exploring local history!

At Hackney New Primary School, we are making a real effort to ensure that all our families feel valued and that children can connect with local history specific to them. Each week of the course, we are focussing on a different element of local history, building up towards designing our own local history resources. Last week our readings discussed the conception of 'local' itself, prompting us to think about what constitutes a 'locality'. It's been really interesting to explore the different ideas from adults and children about what places are significant in a local area.This is so important due to the impact local history can have on a pupil's identity. Hales' article (The local in history: personal and community, 2018) prompted me to think that every individual child could be the basis for a 'hyper-local' unit of history. The example used in the piece about a child from Grenada made me reflect on how sometimes purely 'British history' might not chime with diverse student bodies. I think however that using 'we' as an inclusive pronoun can help to bridge this issue. For example "this is who we were", "Where we live changed because of X". In this way locality can bring together a diverse group of children. I liked the idea of 'collective identities' from Hales too. I think it is important for students to learn about not just their own, but each other's personal histories.

Thomas Rous, Hackney New Primary School, London