History in the curriculum

Why teach history? What can a study of the past contribute to young children's education?
The Curriculum Orders for September 2000 make explicit history's distinctive contribution to the school curriculum.

The Nuffield Primary History project view

• We all come out of the past, and what happened there influences what happens here and now - we need to know so we can understand the world today.
• Through history, we can lead children to understand how human beings behave and why people act as they do.
• By getting inside the past, we can lead children to respect and value each different period and society in its own terms.

Leading History

See the Leading History section for a lot more on this. Leading History