Friday 20 Jul 2007 @ 10:15
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
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Pupils cannot answer the big questions of history
Too great a focus on a relatively small number of issues means pupils are not able to answer the ‘big questions’ in history. They lack an overview of history, are not good at establishing a sense of chronology and cannot make connections between areas they have studied.
This important curriculum weakness is affecting standards in primary and secondary schools, according to History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07, published today by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
Ofsted recommends that the curriculum should be revised to ensure that pupils have a better understanding of chronology in history. A compulsory core of knowledge and skills should be balanced with more flexible elements that respond to local needs.
The curriculum is heavily based on aspects of English history. Scotland, Wales and Ireland are very largely overlooked, as are major European and world themes. In many schools the stories of the people who have come to Britain over the centuries are ignored. Appropriate curriculum innovation to include these stories could go a long way towards raising standards, helping pupils understand the contemporary world, and countering prejudice.
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Education, Children’s Services and Skills, said:
“Curriculum revision to place more emphasis on chronology and themes in history, allied with better continuous professional development for primary teachers, should improve the quality of history teaching in primary schools and inspire more pupils to pursue the study of history at GCSE and beyond.
“A history curriculum that is inclusive and truly reflects both the unity and diversity of the United Kingdom and respects the stories of different people is a desirable aim.”
Pupils’ achievement is generally satisfactory at Key Stages 1 and 2. However, especially at Key Stage 2, pupils do not progress fast enough because there is often little assessment of their performance and teachers are not always clear about the standards they should expect.
Part of the problem is that in primary schools teachers are rarely specialist historians and they get very little training in the subject. Ofsted recommends that there should be improvements to their initial training and induction year programmes and to their continuing professional development.
Curriculum liaison between primary and secondary schools is insufficient. Secondary schools find it difficult to know where to begin their teaching because of variations in the quality of primary school provision.
At Key Stages 3 and 4 and post -16, where teachers are specialists, pupils’ achievement is good. At GCSE in 2006, 66 per cent of pupils achieved grades A*-C in history compared to almost 61 per cent in all subjects. However, at GCSE only just over 30 per cent of the school population study history. At A-level, 74 per cent of candidates achieved grades A–C in history compared to an average for all subjects of 71 per cent.
The report argues that, when considering the contribution school history can make to the Every Child Matters outcomes, the chief aim should be to maximize the future potential of all children by providing them with historical knowledge, understanding and skills that explain the world in which they live and how it has come to be this way.
The report also acknowledges the link between history and current debates on citizenship and ‘Britishness’ and argues that the Sir Keith Ajegbo report Diversity and citizenship requires a response from history teachers and from others who devise the curriculum.
The report acknowledges that considerable uncertainty exists among history teachers about the concept of ‘Britishness’ and history’s links to it. Ofsted’s evidence indicates that history teachers are well equipped to tackle the story behind today’s citizenship issues but warns that the subject’s integrity must be respected.
The quality of leadership and management of history in schools varies. In the best primary schools, subject leaders have introduced significant innovations recently such as improved links between history and literacy. Most secondary school subject leaders have improved monitoring and self-evaluation.
But areas for development in many schools include assessment, making the curriculum more responsive to pupils’ needs, and better use of information and communication technology (ICT).
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07 can be found on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk
2. This report draws on evidence from whole-school inspections and focused history inspections. It also draws on other sources of evidence, including a range of publications and discussions with representatives of subject associations, teacher trainers, teachers and others with an interest in history teaching.
3. On 1 April 2007 a new single inspectorate for children and learners was created called the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, which is known as Ofsted. It has responsibility for the inspection of adult learning and training – work formerly undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate; the regulation and inspection of children’s social care – work formerly undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – work formerly undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration; and the former regulatory and inspection activities of Ofsted.
This important curriculum weakness is affecting standards in primary and secondary schools, according to History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07, published today by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
Ofsted recommends that the curriculum should be revised to ensure that pupils have a better understanding of chronology in history. A compulsory core of knowledge and skills should be balanced with more flexible elements that respond to local needs.
The curriculum is heavily based on aspects of English history. Scotland, Wales and Ireland are very largely overlooked, as are major European and world themes. In many schools the stories of the people who have come to Britain over the centuries are ignored. Appropriate curriculum innovation to include these stories could go a long way towards raising standards, helping pupils understand the contemporary world, and countering prejudice.
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Education, Children’s Services and Skills, said:
“Curriculum revision to place more emphasis on chronology and themes in history, allied with better continuous professional development for primary teachers, should improve the quality of history teaching in primary schools and inspire more pupils to pursue the study of history at GCSE and beyond.
“A history curriculum that is inclusive and truly reflects both the unity and diversity of the United Kingdom and respects the stories of different people is a desirable aim.”
Pupils’ achievement is generally satisfactory at Key Stages 1 and 2. However, especially at Key Stage 2, pupils do not progress fast enough because there is often little assessment of their performance and teachers are not always clear about the standards they should expect.
Part of the problem is that in primary schools teachers are rarely specialist historians and they get very little training in the subject. Ofsted recommends that there should be improvements to their initial training and induction year programmes and to their continuing professional development.
Curriculum liaison between primary and secondary schools is insufficient. Secondary schools find it difficult to know where to begin their teaching because of variations in the quality of primary school provision.
At Key Stages 3 and 4 and post -16, where teachers are specialists, pupils’ achievement is good. At GCSE in 2006, 66 per cent of pupils achieved grades A*-C in history compared to almost 61 per cent in all subjects. However, at GCSE only just over 30 per cent of the school population study history. At A-level, 74 per cent of candidates achieved grades A–C in history compared to an average for all subjects of 71 per cent.
The report argues that, when considering the contribution school history can make to the Every Child Matters outcomes, the chief aim should be to maximize the future potential of all children by providing them with historical knowledge, understanding and skills that explain the world in which they live and how it has come to be this way.
The report also acknowledges the link between history and current debates on citizenship and ‘Britishness’ and argues that the Sir Keith Ajegbo report Diversity and citizenship requires a response from history teachers and from others who devise the curriculum.
The report acknowledges that considerable uncertainty exists among history teachers about the concept of ‘Britishness’ and history’s links to it. Ofsted’s evidence indicates that history teachers are well equipped to tackle the story behind today’s citizenship issues but warns that the subject’s integrity must be respected.
The quality of leadership and management of history in schools varies. In the best primary schools, subject leaders have introduced significant innovations recently such as improved links between history and literacy. Most secondary school subject leaders have improved monitoring and self-evaluation.
But areas for development in many schools include assessment, making the curriculum more responsive to pupils’ needs, and better use of information and communication technology (ICT).
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07 can be found on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk
2. This report draws on evidence from whole-school inspections and focused history inspections. It also draws on other sources of evidence, including a range of publications and discussions with representatives of subject associations, teacher trainers, teachers and others with an interest in history teaching.
3. On 1 April 2007 a new single inspectorate for children and learners was created called the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, which is known as Ofsted. It has responsibility for the inspection of adult learning and training – work formerly undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate; the regulation and inspection of children’s social care – work formerly undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – work formerly undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration; and the former regulatory and inspection activities of Ofsted.
