International Symposium on History
Education.
The history curriculum in primary schools
in England: opportunities and challenges.
Professor Penelope Harnett, University
of the West of England, Bristol. UK.
Penelope.Harnett@uwe.ac.uk
Stages of schooling
Key Stage 1
Year 1 5-6 years
Year 2 6-7years
Key Stage 2
Year 3 7-8 years
Year 4 8-9 years
Year 5 9-10 years
Year 6 10-11 years
Key Stage 3
Year 7 11-12 years
Year 8 12-13 years
Year 9 13-14 years
Key Stage 4
Year 10 14-15 years
Year 11 15-16 years
History Programmes of Study include:
• Specific historical knowledge for each Key Stage
• Key historical concepts and skills such as:
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Asking and answering questions from a range of sources of information (
artefacts, photographs, paintings, maps, documents, buildings etc).
Developing awareness of change and continuity; causes and consequences
Developing a chronological framework of the past:
Representations and interpretations of the past
Key Stage 1 ( 5-7 years)
I played in my play pen
I was in my pushchair at
the zoo
Personal timelines
• Developing important
vocabulary
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•
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Before/ after
Now/then
Past/present
New/old
Sharing memories
•
Sharing memories
Learning about the past beyond
living memory.
Contents page...
Time to get up
Working at school
Going home
Time for bed
Index and blurb
Marjorie’s box
Marjorie’s box
• Do you think it is a boy or a girl?
• Is it just a girl because it has pretty things? (Drawing conclusions
from the information and justifying a conclusion)
• Oh look, it has a diary – I wonder if it has a name inside? ( Raising
a historical question to promote further historical enquiry)
• What do you think she did? ( Another historical question to promote
further enquiries)
• Maybe she worked in a shop – isn’t that one of the jobs that people
used to do? ( Speculative language – use of the word maybe. Draws
on existing historical knowledge to support an hypothesis)
Marjorie’s box
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•
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Do you think that she was famous?
Look at these gloves, do you think that she would mind if we tried them on?
( Awareness that working with a ‘real’ person’s objects and empathy with
the owner of the objects)
Oh – they’re really lovely – be careful though! ( Care taken in handling
historical objects)
Look here is an old book, it has a name in ... I can’t read this – the writing is
really old but it begins with the letter M. Miss can you help me read this
Name? Marjorie – the suitcase belongs to Marjorie but who was she? (
Draw conclusions about the name of the owner from historical sources –
raises further historical questions)
Great events; Remembrance Day ; the
Great Fire of London; Olympic Games
Significant individuals Guy Fawkes, Brunel
• Mary Seacole, bru
Significant individuals –
Florence Nightingale
• Opportunities for teaching about a greater
range of significant people including:
Scientists, artists, inventors, explorers and
writers
Ibn Battatu
• Who was Ibn Battatu and when
did he live?
• What were the most important
events in his life?
• What was society like at the
time when he lived?
• What sources of information
are useful to learning about Ibn
Battatu?
• How should we remember Ibn
Battatu and why?
The importance of play based
activities in the early years
• It is a very old toy. It is
made from straw. It is not
cuddly. It belonged to
Miss Paddock’s dad. It
used to have fur. It has
holes. It has one eye.
• (Label in classroom
museum)
Key Stage 2 history
British History up to 1066
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Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the
Iron Age
The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
Britain’s settlement by the Anglo-Saxons and
Scots
The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the
Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the
Confessor
A local history study
A study of an aspect or theme in British history
that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge
beyond 1066
The achievements of the earliest civilisations an overview with an in-depth study
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Ancient Sumer
The Indus Valley
Ancient Egypt
The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
Ancient Greece

A study of Greek life and achievements and
their influence on the western world
A non-European society to contrast with British
society – one of

Early Islamic civilisation, including a study of
Baghdad c. CE 900
Mayan civilisation c. CE 900
Benin ( West Africa) c. CE 900-1300
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Local studies – central Bristol –
now and then.
Central Bristol in 1866
Key issues at Key Stage 2
• Developing a connected narrative of the past
• Knowing about key events in British history
Key Issues at Key Stage 2
• Role of history in a multi- cultural society –
finding one’s own story in the narrative
Key issues at Key Stage 2
• Emphasis on early histories before 1066
Key issues at Key Stage 2
• Primary teachers’ history subject
knowledge – not history specialists.
Key principles for learning
history; the importance of talk
• What are opportunities are there for a variety of talk in
the classroom – disputational, exploratory and
cumulative?
• How are children organised so that they can share ideas
and draw conclusions from their historical investigations?
• Is the classroom context supportive for children to
express their ideas and feel that their ideas are valued?
• June 5th
Personal timelines
Playing at school