This unit focuses on researching local history, encouraging pupils to investigate how their area has changed over time and to explore significant events that have influenced its development. Before beginning the unit, teachers should identify historically significant places within the local area. These may be located within the town or city and do not necessarily need to be in the immediate neighbourhood of the school.
Examples of significant sites include National Trust or English Heritage properties, local churches, theatres, mills or factories, canals, railways or stations, hillforts or earthworks, burial mounds, stone circles, Second World War bunkers or pillboxes, and quarries or mines. It is recommended that teachers select sites with links to historical periods that pupils have previously studied, helping to reinforce prior learning.
Teachers may wish to choose a specific site or area for the whole class to study before the first lesson, in order to guide pupils’ thinking and questioning from the outset. Pupils will then research this site throughout the remainder of the unit.
Teachers will need to prepare or source appropriate research materials about the chosen site or area. It is advisable to use official websites as a starting point and, where possible, to contact organisations or individuals responsible for preserving and maintaining the site to gather additional information. Although a visit to the site is not essential, it can provide a valuable opportunity for pupils to engage more deeply with their local history.
National Curriculum Attainment Targets:
- Pupils should complete a local history study
- Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study
- Pupils should note connections, contrasts and trends over time
- Pupils should develop the appropriate use of historical terms
- Pupils should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance
- Pupils should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information
- Pupils should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources
Clare is an experienced primary teacher with extensive experience across the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. She has a strong background in curriculum design and development, contributing to programmes across EYFS, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2, ensuring they are engaging, inclusive, and pedagogically effective.
Before joining Developing Experts, Clare served as a QA Inspector for a childcare agency, rigorously applying the Ofsted inspection framework to evaluate and enhance educational provision. She also brings insight into school governance, supporting strategic decision-making and understanding the operational and pedagogical challenges faced by schools.
Clare is committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-informed learning experiences that inspire curiosity and foster academic and personal growth. She maintains a deep knowledge of current educational research, teaching strategies, and best practices to continually enhance teaching and learning outcomes.
Emma is an experienced primary teacher with over twelve years of classroom experience and a strong background in curriculum leadership. She has led history within schools and contributed to curriculum development across academy trusts, supporting the design of coherent, knowledge-rich programmes that enable pupils to build understanding over time.
Emma has a particular passion for writing high-quality curricula that are carefully sequenced, engaging, and rooted in strong subject knowledge. She is committed to creating lessons that are lively, meaningful, and accessible, helping children to grasp complex ideas through clear explanations and purposeful activities that support long-term learning.
Through her curriculum leadership, Emma has supported schools in preparing for successful Ofsted inspections, ensuring that subjects are well structured and effectively implemented. She is dedicated to designing learning experiences that spark curiosity and help pupils make meaningful connections between the past, the present, and the wider world.
Sarah is a former headteacher and charity CEO who founded Developing Experts in October 2015 with the goal to create a fit-for-purpose curriculum for schools. The company has created a science curriculum for children ages 4-16 which is delivered through sequenced lessons mapped against the National Curriculum in biology, chemistry, and physics. Developing Expert's innovative approach to learning has already been road-tested and voted 'best EdTech product in Europe', winning Tech Nation’s Rising Stars earlier in 2019 and a place on Google for Startups Immersion program 2020. In 2022 Developing Experts won the BETT Awards for Best Classroom Resource - Teaching Aid. Sarah is a 'LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leader' 2022. In October 2022 Developing Experts joined Tech Nation's Upscale 8.0 programme.
Sarah is delighted to be working with over 6500 UK schools and clients such as the Royal Horticulture Society, Network Rail, Rolls Royce, BEIS, National Nuclear Labs, Anglian Water and the Ministry of Defence.
Sarah was awarded an MBE for her services to tech and education in 2020.
Archaeologist
An archaeologist studies the past by finding and examining objects left by people long ago. They ...
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