Humanities Network: enquiry, fieldwork and local curriculum

Aims

To strengthen the teaching of Humanities by developing high-quality enquiry, purposeful fieldwork and engaging local curricula that help pupils understand their communities, environments and the wider world.

By the end of the session, participants will:

• Explore how enquiry-led approaches can develop pupils’ curiosity, critical thinking, problem-solving and independent learning.

• Share effective strategies for framing meaningful questions and supporting pupils to investigate historical and geographical issues.

• Identify opportunities for purposeful fieldwork within the school grounds, local area and wider community.

• Develop approaches for preparing pupils to observe, collect, record, analyse and present information from first-hand experiences.

• Consider how fieldwork can be used to deepen classroom learning and strengthen pupils’ understanding of place and people.

• Share examples of local curriculum planning that make effective use of local history, geography, heritage, landmarks, environments and community resources.

• Explore how local studies can be connected to national and global themes within the Humanities curriculum.

• Consider ways to ensure that local curriculum content is inclusive and reflects the diverse experiences, histories and identities of the school community.

• Review how maps, photographs, oral histories, archives, artefacts, surveys and digital technologies can enrich Humanities learning.

• Identify suitable assessment opportunities for evaluating pupils’ knowledge, skills, interpretations and conclusions.

• Collaboratively plan or refine an enquiry or fieldwork activity that can be implemented in school.

• Agree practical next steps for developing enquiry, fieldwork and local curriculum provision across participating schools.