Category: subject leadership

subject leadership, teaching history

In at the deep end? Swimming lessons for newly-appointed Subject Leaders

In this blog, Catherine Priggs and Hugh Richards offer some ideas for newly-appointed Subject Leaders of History, organised month by month for the first year. Inevitably this isn’t an exhaustive list, and whilst context will determine the timing of some of the points mentioned below, the aim of this blog is to help newly-appointed Subject Leaders to reflect on key moments. Cat and Hugh are … Continue reading In at the deep end? Swimming lessons for newly-appointed Subject Leaders

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GCSE and A level, subject leadership, teaching and learning resources

What’s the point of studying history? How can the past make any difference to the present?

This blogpost is for all those of us who find ourselves having conversations with sceptical parents and students. It especially addresses the need to persuade people that studying history can contribute to a career. Dr Katharine Burn, Honorary Secretary of the HA and history teacher educator at the University of Oxford, shares with us some quotations about the impact of historical research taken from the … Continue reading What’s the point of studying history? How can the past make any difference to the present?

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beginning teacher, curriculum and planning, KS3, subject leadership, teacher knowledge

The return to formal assessment at KS3

Richard Kennett (@richkbristol), of Gatehouse Green Trust in Bristol, shares recent rethinking of KS3 assessment in his school in response to recent discussions on history edutwitter. This may be incredibly obvious to many of you but given the number of tweets I keep seeing about assessment I thought I would share what we have been doing and thinking at my school in Bristol. I am … Continue reading The return to formal assessment at KS3

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curriculum and planning, subject leadership, teacher knowledge

Igniting the spark!

This blogpost from Anne Hooper (@Hoops752) was created as a result of thinking following a professional conversation. At the last meeting of HA Secondary Committee Jason Todd (@JJtodd1966) was talking about the need to listen to children and their craving for knowing about the past. What conversations with a colleague have really made you think this month? What got you into history? I mean what … Continue reading Igniting the spark!

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CPD, curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, historical enquiry, historical scholarship, KS3, sources and evidence, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge

Decolonising Source Analysis and Introducing Sikh Female History to Year 9

Many thanks to Dr Danielle Donaldson, Head of Department, Concord College, Shrewsbury for this blogpost sharing her department’s work to extend the range of sources used in class and to teach the history of Sikh women. The curriculum intent & context We have been working on decolonising and integrating more representative history in our schemes of work at Concord College. Our enquiries are aimed to … Continue reading Decolonising Source Analysis and Introducing Sikh Female History to Year 9

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subject leadership, teaching history

4 reasons why your Headteacher should buy you an HA Corporate Membership

Simon Harrison, Headteacher of Crofton School in Hampshire and member of HA Secondary Committee, provides anyone who needs them with arguments to present to senior leadership as to why your history department needs HA Corporate Membership. From history teacher to Headteacher, in over 25 years of teaching I have filled most school roles;  history teacher,  in the ‘middle’ as a subject leader, an Advanced Skills … Continue reading 4 reasons why your Headteacher should buy you an HA Corporate Membership

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, KS3, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning resources

Better history by working together!

Thanks to Martyn Bajowski and Hugh Richards for this blogpost. In it they share the process they went through to create resources … and share them! This story starts with Martyn Recently I posted the story of Sophia Duleep Singh on Twitter which I produced as a team effort with Hugh Richards. Hugh and I both thought it would be worthwhile going through the process … Continue reading Better history by working together!

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GCSE and A level, historical enquiry, sources and evidence, subject leadership, teaching and learning ideas, teaching and learning resources, teaching history

Using archives to enthuse and engage

Thanks to Anne Hooper, member of HA Secondary Committee, for this article explaining how her department refreshed their GCSE course by delving into the archives. Anne explains how using full texts with original images really engages students and helps develop their evidential understanding. She generously shares the resources at the end. Using archive sources is not new to us as history teachers but sometimes it’s … Continue reading Using archives to enthuse and engage

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diversity and inclusion, subject leadership

It is time to update our Remembrance assemblies

Secondary Committee member Gemma Hargraves challenges us to think about Remembrance-tide afresh, to make it resonant for our pupils and to use stories of the past to support their knowledge of the people of today. Every year schools deliver Remembrance assemblies. Perhaps it’s the Headteacher, perhaps it’s the job of the History department. This time last year I wrote for One Big History Department about … Continue reading It is time to update our Remembrance assemblies

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curriculum and planning, GCSE and A level, historical literacy, KS3, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge

Developing substantive thinking: a project to create connections through a KS3 curriculum

Thank you to Sarah Jackson, Head of History at Sawston Village College in Cambridgeshire, for this blogpost sharing some more of the work of the department… As a department we have often talked about the huge impact that cultural literacy has on the achievement of our pupils. Students who don’t have ‘pictures of the past’ find it hard to understand new content as it doesn’t … Continue reading Developing substantive thinking: a project to create connections through a KS3 curriculum

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