Category: subject leadership

beginning teacher, curriculum and planning, GCSE and A level, KS3, speaking and listening, subject leadership, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Help! – we’re under scrutiny for our poor results…

Last week the Historical Association was contacted by a history teacher member wanting help. The department they work in is under scrutiny for ‘poor’ results. The advice the department had been given was to differentiate all GCSE lessons into 3 or maybe 4 pathways. The department has mixed ability teaching groups with targets ranging from 2-8. They just knew this didn’t seem like a good … Continue reading Help! – we’re under scrutiny for our poor results…

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KS3, subject leadership, teaching history

What has the HA survey ever done for me?

Ever doubted that your contribution could make a difference? In this short blogpost, Katharine Burn explains how the HA survey was crucial to defeating the mad National Curriculum plan of 2013 – just ask an older colleague if you were not teaching then! The HA Survey window must end in the middle of October and this is a plea, if you have not yet had … Continue reading What has the HA survey ever done for me?

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curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, GCSE and A level, historical interpretations, historical scholarship, KS3, local networks, subject leadership, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas

Teaching interpretations – maximising potential and avoiding pitfalls!

Thanks to Warren Valentine (@warrenvalentine), head of history and politics at Mayfield Grammar School for Girls, for this blogpost about a day spent thinking about the teaching of historical interpretations. This is an area that has been extensively discussed and theorised about for many years. You can find more help with this tricky concept on the HA website.   In June a collection of history teachers … Continue reading Teaching interpretations – maximising potential and avoiding pitfalls!

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curriculum and planning, GCSE and A level, KS3, subject leadership

Making sense of the past: history curriculum and the education inspection framework

Thanks to Heather Fearn, Inspector Curriculum and Professional Development Lead, Ofsted for this blogpost… What images come into your head when I say the word ‘Egyptians’? Probably multiple thoughts and ideas of pyramids, pharaohs and hieroglyphics. Or perhaps the word triggers more modern connotations? When I spoke at the Historical Association Annual Conference recently, as you might expect, I felt very assured of the audience’s … Continue reading Making sense of the past: history curriculum and the education inspection framework

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beginning teacher, CPD, curriculum and planning, historical enquiry, subject leadership, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Ringing the changes: the power of enquiry questions that both chime and resonate

Enquiry questions – the back story! Editors’ note: Thanks to Hugh Richards for organising all of us and co-ordinating this post. His lovely tables had to be posted as screen-shots. The Word Doc of the same material is here: Enquiry Questions Continue reading Ringing the changes: the power of enquiry questions that both chime and resonate

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KS3, local networks, subject leadership, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

North of Scotch Corner – a cross country approach to developing explicit explanations

This blogpost describes a really effective school link up as a result of discussions at Teach Meet History Icons back in March 2018. Here, Martyn Bajkowski, HA Secondary Committee, describes how he and Alex Fairlamb, lead coordinator of TMHistoryIcons, worked together to motivate their students to put in effort and develop clarity with their historical explanations. A brilliant idea that is easily copied – thank … Continue reading North of Scotch Corner – a cross country approach to developing explicit explanations

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CPD, GCSE and A level, historical scholarship, KS3, subject leadership, teacher knowledge, teaching history

Exhausted and exhilarated! A personal reflection on HA Conference 2019

First-time conference attender and Chartered History Teacher Natalie Kesterton blogs about her HA conference experience. The drive across the Pennines was lovely and sunny; boding well for a great weekend in Chester; my first national HA conference and first time presenting. I went with the aim of ensuring my planning of the new KS3 curriculum is on the right track and of finding more ideas … Continue reading Exhausted and exhilarated! A personal reflection on HA Conference 2019

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CPD, local networks, subject leadership

History teachers’ sources of support – part 2 – local history teacher networks

Continuing our celebration of sources of support for history teachers, this post takes up the theme of local networks. Thanks to Kate Smee, Director of Humanities at Fairfield High School, in the Bristol network for sharing with us how their network has supported her. Please let us know of other such networks so we can connect people to them, support them and inspire more.  Local … Continue reading History teachers’ sources of support – part 2 – local history teacher networks

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curriculum and planning, subject leadership

Reflections on our Ofsted pilot

In December 2018 our school was approached to take part in a pilot for Ofsted’s new framework from September 2019.  This was not an official trial of the whole framework (the focus was the subject-specific curriculum in 2 subjects) and therefore has no official status. We received no judgements or written feedback. The following reflections are merely our own personal reflections on our experience. We … Continue reading Reflections on our Ofsted pilot

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curriculum and planning, local networks, subject leadership

History teachers’ sources of support – part 1 – history SLEs

Some colleagues are fortunate to work in schools where there is strong senior management support for the teaching of history, in departments where there is a long history of high-quality leadership and teaching, and are able to feel confident about curriclum planning for the new Ofsted, teaching and learning to meet the needs of every child and the constant demands of subject knowledge updating. Many … Continue reading History teachers’ sources of support – part 1 – history SLEs

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