Progression in Key Stage 3 history

With the growing interest in APP and its central focus on helping pupils make steady progress , this section off the site is even more compelling.  I have divided it into two: one part dealing with generic issues of progression; the other focussing on each of the strands. In my view the latter is likely to have much greater influence on practice. To that end I am advocating that each department develops, rather than simply imports from QCA, its own understanding of progression in each strand by devoting departmental meeting time to this task. It will repay every minute. To help you prepare for such INSET opportunities, I have developed a whole series of cards which try to separate the various aspects within a particular concept, e.g, causation, interpretations. It is for you to put these together into some sort of hierarchy that makes sense to you and your team.

It is unlikely that you will create a neat ladder of progression. Indeed in a subject which is non-linear it might be worrying if you did!  What you will see from some of the models provided in the "by skills/concept "section is that departments introduce specific ideas when the time and context seems right. That means they may introduce 5 new ideas in one context and then only two the next time. Sometimes, more attention is given to consolidation of many familiar ideas before introducing new ones.

You will see that the models 'dog leg' to return to certain ideas before introducing new ones. The members of the department recognise that progression is unlikely to be even. Sometimes there will be small steps, but at others a big leap is needed. As you study these schools' thinking, it might well spark off a better way of thinking within your own department. Good luck!

For an unparalleled range of outstanding progression models from a variety of high achieving schools:

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