History advice from Ofsted

Ofsted have published training packs to support teaching and learning in history. They are PowerPoint presentations aimed at history coordinators in primary schools and heads of department in secondary schools. They contain a series of questions and activities that focus on five questions:

Ø      How popular is history in your school?

Ø      What history don’t you teach and why don’t you teach it?

Ø      Mow can you ensure the most effective teaching in history?

Ø      How can you ensure the best learning in history?

Ø      How effectively do you meet the subject-specific history training needs of the history teachers in your school?

The report was based on the ‘History for All’ report which surveyed History between 2007 and 2010 and was published in March 2011. Extracts from the findings of this report include:

Ø      History teaching was good or better in most primary schools, and most pupils reached the end of Key Stage 2 with detailed knowledge derived from well-taught studies of individual topics. However, some pupils lacked a coherent, long-term narrative and their chronological understanding was often underdeveloped. In part, this was because many primary teachers did not themselves have adequate subject knowledge beyond the specific elements of history that they taught. In addition the curriculum structure for primary schools was episodic.

Ø      In secondary schools, effective teaching by well-qualified and highly competent teachers enabled the majority of students to develop knowledge and understanding in depth. Many students displayed a healthy respect for historical evidence. The teaching of history is helping pupils to develop important and broadly applicable skills. However, decisions about curriculum structures (eg introducing a 2year KS3 course, assimilating history into a humanities course or establishing a competency-based or skills-based course in Year 7) have reduced curriculum time for teaching had been reduced and marginalising history.

Ø      At Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form, history was generally taught very well. Teachers prepared students thoroughly and achievement in public exams was good and improving. For the past three years, history has been one of the most popular optional GCSE subjects, and numbers taking the subject at A level have risen steadily over the past 10 years. However, in some schools the students were restricted in their subject options at GCSE. 48% of students in independent schools studied GCSE history compared with only 30% in maintained schools.

Ø      In some schools an over-dependence on set text books at A-level did not prepare students well for the challenges of higher education.

Ø      The view that too little British history is taught in secondary schools in England is a myth. However, the large majority of the time was spent on English history rather than wider British history.

Ø      Teachers had responded positively to developing independent learning in history. The most effective schools used a well-focused enquiry-based approach to achieve this. In addition, more schools were incorporating ICT into history. However, its impact in accelerating gains in pupils’ historical knowledge and understanding varied, particularly in the secondary schools visited.