The Historical Lens

There are so many potential topics to choose from when designing a history curriculum that it becomes intimidating for many heads of department. What do we do? How do we do it? What are we missing? What if we don’t cover x, y or z? The most important thing we can do, is take a

Curriculum self-assessment

Purpose The purpose of this blog is to allow for history departments to review their curriculum in a way that strengthens the experience of staff and students whilst also preparing staff for future subject reviews/Ofsted inspections. This is based on current research and the current framework and will enable those who reflect upon it/complete it

Model Secondary History Feedback policy

So, a lot of people are looking to revamp their feedback policies at the moment so I thought I would put something together that may be of use if anybody is currently looking to do this for history. Also, a lot of this is applicable outside of history as well. Step 1 – Feedback not

Planning excellent history lessons

We must consider the above as the fundamentals to our classroom practice and constantly be thinking about how we can help the students engage with them. If we do the above four elements well, no easy task, our students will thrive in history as a result.

Responding to Ofqual as a history department

“Now, it has to be said that all of this is subject to consultation and review but if you gauge the general reaction to this news I feel like the history changes will probably go ahead which begs the question – what module do we drop?”

Top 10 Tips for leading a successful department

Be on it. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your department like the back of your hand.

10 Quick tips to improve your pedagogy

Usual disclaimer – this list is not designed to be comprehensive. It’s designed to have a few tips and ideas for teachers looking to improve their classroom practice over the course of the last three half terms of the year. I decided to do this particular blog as this is often the time when trainee

10 Tips to build positive classroom relationships

At the centre if every good classroom is a teacher who is skilled at building relationships with the children they teach. It isn’t just important it is absolutely essential. If you can’t build relationships with students, and there are different ways of doing this, they will simply not perform as well for you. Strong relationships

Data 2.0 – Using it for CPD

” As a head of department, it’s the kind of information I need to see in order to see where there are gaps in my curriculum and teaching.”

Data – Asking the right questions

“I think that when used correctly, data can be one of the most important and useful sources for improving departments and classroom teaching as long as we ask the right questions.”