History in schools: best practice

1. History in schools: best practice SSAT History and Geography Conference 2013 Michael Maddison HMI National Lead for History, England London; 17 May 2013

2. The state of history in schools … …press headlines since 7 Feb 2013 • 1066 and all that – it is a good thing to teach the narrative of British history in schools • Historians attack Michael Gove over ‘narrow’ curriculum • This is a ladybird curriculum. Is anyone ready to teach it? • The curriculum we are introducing captures British history in all its multi-layered, omni-racial glory • Gove is facing his Waterloo • Michael Gove’s history curriculum is a pub quiz not an education. The rote sets in. • History curriculum: Gove’s next u-turn in the making? • Imagine Hitler as one of the Mr Men • Gove’s claims of teenagers’ ignorance harpooned by retired teacher

3. The state of history in schools … …press headlines since 7 Feb 2013 • 1066 and all that – it is a good thing to teach the narrative of British history in schools (Times, 02/13) • Historians attack Michael Gove over ‘narrow’ curriculum (Obs, 02/13) • This is a ladybird curriculum. Is anyone ready to teach it? (Obs, 02/13) • The curriculum we are introducing captures British history in all its multi-layered, omni-racial glory (Ind, 02/13) • Gove is facing his Waterloo (Sunday Times, 03/13) • Michael Gove’s history curriculum is a pub quiz not an education. The rote sets in. (New Statesman, 03/13)  • History curriculum: Gove’s next u-turn in the making? (Online blog) • Imagine Hitler as one of the Mr Men (Daily Mail, 05/13) • Gove’s claims of teenagers’ ignorance harpooned by retired teacher (Guard 05/13)

4. Outline Best Practice in Teaching and Learning in History • summarise the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and learning in history in secondary schools • analyse the characteristics of highly effective teaching and learning • illustrate best practice with examples from some of the good practice case studies in history and other subject inspection work • provide guidance on how to bring about highly effective teaching irrespective of the content.

5. Ofsted’s evidence:‘History for all’ and progress since 2007 Overview: a mixed picture – a successful subject in school but under pressure and some significant aspects in need of improvement

6. Primary headlines • Primary strengths: • pupils have good knowledge • teaching is generally good or better • Primary weaknesses: • pupils’ knowledge is episodic • pupils’ chronological understanding is variable and their ability to make links across the knowledge they have gained is weak

7. Primary headlines • Teachers find it difficult to establish a clear mental map of the past because • the National Curriculum specifications treat topics in a disconnected way • they lack expertise in the subject because • ITE preparation is limited • there is insufficient subject-specific expertise or professional development • Result: primary school teachers are hazy about standards, assessment and progression in developing pupils’ historical knowledge, thinking and understanding

8. Secondary headlines – successes • History is successfulin most of the secondary schools visited because it is well taught by very well-qualified and highly competent teachers and well led. • The National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 (11-14) has led to much high-quality teaching and learningin history. • Attainment in the secondary schools visited is high and has continued to rise, particularly at GCSE and A level • Myth: too little British history is taught in secondary schools but too much of the British history is English history • Myth: that students only study Hitler at AS and A level but most students who take history beyond KS3 study modern world topics at GCSE and A level

9. GCSE Entries 1997-2012 Figures from 2005 onwards are for end of KS4. Figures prior to this are for pupils aged 15

10. GCSE History Entries 1997-2012 Figures from 2005 onwards are for end of KS4. Figures prior to this are for pupils aged 15 *2011 rev includes accredited iGCSE history courses

11. Secondary concerns – Key Stage 3 • increasing non-specialist teaching – 28% no relevant degree • reductions in teaching time for history – average: 60-90mins a week • whole-school curriculum changes in KS3 – e.g. two year KS3; cross curricular teaching; competencies rather than subjects • insufficient emphasis upon developing students’ analytical and discursive writing • poor planning for progression in the developments of students’ knowledge, understanding and subject-specific thinking • the failure of some subject leaders to provide a rationale for the curriculum they had put in place • Result • history has become marginalised with some students giving up history before the age of 14 • standards are too variable and progress is not fast enough

12. What are the characteristics of highly effective teaching and learning in history?

13. The constituents of highly effective teaching and learning • Ofsted, 2010, revised October 2012

14. Summary:the constituents of highly effective teaching • Subject expertise • Learning • Historical thinking and understanding • Assessment

15. Highly effective subject expertise • Teachers’ practice is informed by excellent knowledge and application of continuing developments in teaching and learning in history. • History is very skilfully presented as a dynamic subject to be explored and investigated rather than as a subject to be received; as a result, pupils approach historical enquiries as keen and skilled investigators.

16. Highly effective learning • Learning is rooted in enquiry and teachers routinely promote rigorous historical thinking. • Teachers communicate their passion for history and consistently challenge and inspire pupils to produce the best work they can. • Lessons are exciting and often innovative with historical rigour at their core.

17. Highly effective historical thinking and understanding • The best learning in history took place when teaching developed pupils’ historical knowledge and historical thinkingthrough well-focused enquiries • Historical thinking = ability to investigate, consider, reflect and review the events of the past. • Teaching makes pupils alive to changing views of the past and helps them to understand • how and why interpretations and representations change over time • why history matters and • why the particular topics they are taught are worth knowing about.

18. Highly effective assessment • Teachers continuously refine their practice to ensure that teaching promotes excellent progress in history for all groups of pupils. • Teaching ensures that pupils are able to make use of their prior learning in moving their historical understanding forward.

19. Best practice …

20. Case Studies: history • Meaningful history for all– inclusion central to teaching and learning (Lampton School Academy, London) • Putting the local community at the heart of the KS3 history curriculum (Copleston High School, Suffolk) • Ensuring rigorous historical thinking (Cottenham Village College, Cambridgeshire) • Making the most of local history (Cape Cornwall School, Cornwall) • Outstanding teaching and learning in history in 100 minutes (Farlingaye High School, Suffolk) • Outstanding history in a two year KS3 (Harris Academy Crystal Palace, London) • Making history motivating, memorable and meaningful by inspiring teachers through an effective area partnership (Hampshire Secondary History Network) • Developing outstanding historical thinking in primary schools (Fox Primary School, London)

25. What makes a highly effective history curriculum in a school?

26. The constituents of a highly effective curriculum • Ofsted, 2010, revised October 2012

27. Summary:The constituents of a highly effective curriculum • Acquisition of knowledge and development of chronological understanding • Understanding of key historical concepts • Development of historical thinking through enquiries • Clarity of rationale and thinking • Assessment which reveals whether aims are being achieved • An increasing level of expectation and challenge to ensure progression in historical knowledge, thinking and understanding • Distinctive and reflects pupils’ needs, interests and aspirations • Wide range of enrichment activities

28. The constituents of a highly effective curriculum Acquisition of knowledge • Pupils have excellent opportunities to develop their historical knowledge through learning about, and understanding, important aspects of local, national and world events and the histories of cultures other than their own. • Opportunities to study different themes and issues across time are combined with well-planned in-depth studies to ensure that pupils develop a sophisticated and wide-ranging understanding of history and why studying it matters.

29. The constituents of a highly effective curriculum Understanding of historical concepts • The curriculum ensures that pupils • understand key historical concepts and • can confidently articulate the place history has in their own lives, in society and in the modern world.

30. The constituents of a highly effective curriculum Development of historical thinking through enquiries • Best learning in history takes place when teaching develops pupils’ historical knowledge and historical thinking • Historical thinking = ability to investigate, consider, reflect and review the events of the past. • Most effective schools use a well-focused enquiry based approach to develop pupils’ historical knowledge and thinking

31. How do we know it is highly effective? Clarity of rationale and thinking • Why are we teaching, what we are teaching, how we are teaching, when we are teaching it? • What do we want pupils to know, do and understand at the end that they didn’t know, couldn’t do and didn't understand at the beginning?

32. How do we know it is highly effective? Assessment reveals aims being achieved and an increasing level of expectation and challenge • Are the aims being achieved? How do you know? • What assessment strategies are used? • Does the learning become more complex as the pupils get older? • Does the scheme in the school develop progression in pupils’ learning?

33. Ofsted’s National Adviser web pages • Keep up-to-date with Ofsted's work in history by visiting the dedicated history web pages on the Ofsted website at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/our-expert-knowledge/history-0

34. History for all …accessiblemeaningfulachievable

35. History in schools: best practice Email: michael.maddison@ofsted.gov.uk