As we know schools are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate the effectiveness of their history curriculum, not just deliver it. Ofsted deep dives, MAT curriculum reviews, and governor questions all boil down to the same thing: can you show, clearly and quickly, that your history curriculum is well sequenced, well taught, and well led?
That’s why we’ve built the Primary History Curriculum Health Check, a free, structured audit that acts like an MOT for your history curriculum.
Why we built it
Most subject leaders know their curriculum well, but “knowing it” and being able to evidence it under scrutiny are two different things. In our experience, schools tend to fall into one of three traps:
– Everything’s in someone’s head. The curriculum vision, the sequencing logic, the assessment approach: it’s all there, but it lives with one enthusiastic subject leader rather than being written down and shared.
– Strong planning, patchy evidence. Lessons are good, but there’s little to show progress over time: no consistent knowledge organisers, no retrieval strategy, no clear record for governors.
– No sense of where the gaps are. Without a structured audit, it’s hard to know whether to spend the next INSET day on chronology, vocabulary, or assessment.
A health check solves this by giving subject leaders a quick, honest read on where they stand, and a governor- and Ofsted-ready summary to back it up.
What it does
The health check takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete and covers seven areas that matter most for a well-sequenced, well-led history curriculum:
1. Curriculum Design — progression, chronology, and disciplinary knowledge
2. Knowledge — retrieval, vocabulary, and connections across periods
3. Assessment — whether you can evidence what pupils actually remember
4. Teaching & Learning — enquiry, sources, local history, and debate
5. Resources — whether your resources are curriculum-matched and ready to teach
6. Subject Leadership — action plans, monitoring, CPD, and governor reporting
7. Ofsted Readiness — whether you can confidently answer the questions a deep dive will ask
Each question is answered on a simple five-point scale, from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree.”
What you get at the end
Once every question is answered, the tool generates an instant result:
– An overall score out of 100, shown on an MOT-style gauge
– A certification tier: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Outstanding
– A section-by-section breakdown, so you can see exactly where marks were gained or lost
– Your top strengths and development priorities, picked out automatically
– Personalised recommendations for your weakest areas: practical next steps, not vague advice
It’s designed to be something you could genuinely hand to a governor or bring to a leadership meeting, not just a fun quiz.
Try it for yourself
The health check is free, takes 10-15 minutes, and gives you an honest, structured view of where your history curriculum stands right now, plus a clear idea of what to prioritise next.
