Key Stage 2 history · Local history
KS2 local history study: a guide for parents
A local history study asks children to investigate the past of a place they can actually visit: their town, a street, a building, a factory or a landmark. The National Curriculum requires one local study in Key Stage 2, but leaves the choice to the school. What matters is not a list of facts but the skill of finding out how we know about the past, using sources, and building a well-organised answer to a question.
A local history study, explained
Unlike most history topics, this one has no set content. The curriculum simply says children should be taught about a local history study, and gives examples that schools may choose from: a depth study linked to one of the British periods they are already learning about, a study over time that traces how several aspects of national history show up in the area, or a study of an aspect of history, or a site, from after 1066 that matters locally. So your child’s school might study the local mill, the castle on the hill, the canal, the pit, the harbour or the high street. Ask what your child’s class is studying; there is no “standard” local study to compare it with.
The heart of the work is sources. A source is anything that gives us evidence about the past: old photographs, maps from different dates, street names, tombstones, census returns, trade directories, newspapers, objects in a museum, the buildings themselves and what people remember. Children learn to ask who made a source, when, and why, and what it can and cannot tell us. A photograph shows what was in front of the camera, but not what was just out of the frame, and a poster advertising a seaside resort wants you to visit.
Children also practise comparing sources. If a map from 1890 shows fields where a map from 1950 shows streets, they can work out roughly when the houses were built, then check that against a photograph or a street name. This is how our knowledge of the past is constructed: pieces of evidence are fitted together, and gaps and disagreements are noticed rather than hidden.
The other main skill is writing a considered answer. Children are given or devise an enquiry question, such as “How did the railway change our town?”, select the most useful evidence, and organise it into a clear response with a conclusion. They link local events to the national story, for example how a famous national event affected the people of their town, and they use words such as source, evidence, century, decade and change over time.
Words your child will hear
- Source
- Anything that gives evidence about the past, such as a photograph, a map, a letter or a building.
- Primary source
- Evidence made at the time being studied, by people who were there, such as a 1920s photograph of your street.
- Secondary source
- An account written or made later, using evidence, such as a museum display or a local history book.
- Evidence
- Information from a source that helps answer a question about the past.
- Enquiry question
- The question a history topic sets out to answer, such as “Why did our town grow so quickly?”
- Continuity
- Something that stayed the same over time, such as a street keeping its name or a market still held on the same day.
- Archive
- A place that keeps old documents, maps and photographs so people can study them.
What the National Curriculum says
The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:
- Pupils should be taught about a local history study
- Pupils should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
- Pupils should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.
Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
A worked example: using sources to answer a question
Imagine a class is studying the high street in their town. Enquiry question: “Has our high street changed since 1900?” How would they build an answer?
- Break the question down. What would we look at to judge change? Pupils might choose the shops, the transport, the buildings and the people. Choosing categories first makes the later writing easier to organise.
- Collect different kinds of source. A photograph from about 1905 shows a baker, a draper and horse-drawn carts. A trade directory from the same period lists the shops by name and trade. A modern map and a walk down the street show the shops today, and an older relative describes what the street was like in the 1970s.
- Question each source. The photograph is a primary source, but it shows one moment on one day. The directory was written to help people find businesses, so it may leave out market stalls. The relative’s memories are valuable, but memory can blur, so pupils check them against another source where they can.
- Compare and look for patterns. The bakery has gone, but a food shop is still on the corner (continuity). The carts have been replaced by cars and then by pedestrian areas (change). Several shops that sold everyday goods have become cafés and phone shops, which suggests how people’s needs and habits have shifted.
- Organise a response with a conclusion. Pupils write one paragraph per category, give a piece of evidence for each point, and finish by deciding whether the street has changed more than it has stayed the same, saying what evidence they would still like to find.
A good answer says that the high street has changed a great deal in transport and in the kinds of shops, but that the street layout and some of the buildings have stayed the same. It supports each point with a named source and says honestly what the sources cannot tell us.
Common mistakes and how to help
Believing that an old source must be true
Children often assume that because something was made long ago, or by someone who was there, it must be accurate. A diary, a newspaper report or a poster can all be biased, mistaken or written to persuade.
What helps: Ask “Who made this, and why?” of any source, including modern ones. Looking at a holiday brochure or an estate agent’s listing together shows how a source can be useful and still one-sided.
Thinking local history is just a collection of facts about the area
A list of dates and names feels like history, so children copy facts down rather than using them. The curriculum is about answering questions with evidence.
What helps: Turn a fact into a question. Instead of “The mill opened in 1850”, ask “Why was a mill built here, and who worked in it?” and see what the child can find out.
Assuming that local history is separate from national history
The local study can seem like a small, self-contained story. Children may not realise that a national event, such as a war or a new invention, shaped their own street.
What helps: Link the two when you talk: “What was happening in the rest of Britain when this was built?” Plaques, war memorials and street names often hold a national story in a local place.
Thinking that if there is no evidence, nothing happened
Children can struggle with gaps. Many ordinary lives were never recorded, and some sources have been lost or destroyed.
What helps: Explain that historians say “the evidence suggests” rather than “we know for certain”. Not knowing is a normal and honest answer, and it can lead to a new question.
How to help at home
- Go on a street detective walk. Walk around your area with an adult and look for clues: street names, house dates carved into stonework, old shop signs, plaques, war memorials, the shapes of buildings. Ask your child what each clue suggests, and what it cannot tell you.
- Compare old and new. Look at an old photograph or map of your area, from a library, a local museum or a relative, next to the same view today. Spot three things that have changed and one that has stayed the same.
- Interview someone older. Ask a grandparent or neighbour what the area was like when they were young. Let your child prepare three questions first, and afterwards talk about whether the answers are a source, and how you might check them.
- Visit the library or local museum. Many local libraries and museums have free displays, old maps and photographs, and staff who are often glad to help children find things. Ask your child’s class which place or period they are studying and look for related items.
Related topics
Builds on
- Key Stage 1: Local history
Leads on to
- Key Stage 3: A local history study
Updated .