I thought it worth passing on some information about the Luddite bicentenary which has been sent through to me.

The website http://ludditelink.org.uk/ has some interesting news on it. The most useful may be that the West Yorkshire Archive Service has produced a display which is available to borrow after May. I don’t know if/when we all touch on the Luddites in our classrooms but it might be something to book in when we do.

There is also an interesting ‘Luddite story’ section which has some potentially interesting ideas/resources on it: http://ludditelink.org.uk/ludditeprojindex.php and http://ludditelink.org.uk/articles.php and a media section with some Luddite songs on it.

Finally, the University of Huddersfield is also organising a two day lecture series and there is a free Luddite walk on the 13th May which you/coplleagues/students/parents might be interested in (contact huddshistory@gmail.com to reserve a place)

A big thank you to everyone who made the journey to Holmfirth again last night, and especially to Andrew Payne of the National Archives for taking the time to run such an interesting session showing us the video-conference and the virtual classroom opportunities the National Archives education service runs for us. 

It really did bring home to me the power of working with original (and at times individual) documents, as well as the value of genuinely student-led enquiries – ones where there is potential for mistakes, slow progress and confusion (all part of the joy of learning!) Trusting our students to be able to do the thinking, and supporting them in that process can clearly lead to deep impactful learning.  Unpicking the meaning and then the significance of that single intercept document about the death camps will stick with me for a long time – and I can imagine the impact it would have on students (of all abilities!)

Hopefully this means we will all be rushing to book up their facilities now – I will also be thinking about how often I do too much thinking for my classes..!  If anyone does try it out with students, it would be great to know how the sessions went.

I’ve put the resources up on the site for everyone to use – the evidence we looked at to start with, as well as the Ofsted presentation I mentioned.  It is worth looking at and may be of use in a practical way too.

See you next time! Donald

Thanks again to everyone who cam along to the second meeting – the atmosphere was great and it was good to see links being developed and collaboration growing!  Thanks to the All Saints team for hosting us – much appreciated.

I’ve put some of the resources up on the Blog, and will put the Suffragettes idea into a proper proposal format to make it easier for everyone to spread the word.  It is an exciting chance to do something fairly big and impactful!

Have a great festive period and see you in 2012 for the next meeting with the National Archives.

DC

A big thanks to everyone who made it on such a stormy Wednesday for the first meeting – we hope it was a useful one and the resources will be winging their way soon!  If anyone has great KS4 resources they’d like to share please email them along to Donald – thanks in advance for these.

The furthest flung member came all the way from Guiseley; thank you Paul!

We’ve had a few follow up calls from Universities/the HA so an email update will be on its way as well with full details.

See you in November at All Saints!

Holmfirth High School & All Saints Catholic College invite you to the new

Northern History Network

 
Our aim:

1. To establish a thriving History teaching community, with strong links across schools
2. To raise the profile of History – in our schools, with our students and in our communities
3. To share ideas – at every meeting
4. To ensure our region has a strong voice for History teaching

Why?

• No more LA networks – we hope we can help to fill the gap
• There is huge expertise within all our schools; the benefits from sharing this and working more closely together are clear
• History teachers from the North are often under involved in regional/national developments and activities – why let London/the South dominate the agenda?

 What you will get:

• 4 network meetings each year
• Holmfirth High School and All Saints Catholic College will take turns to host the meetings
• Each meeting will be themed and involve a leading ‘expert’ in the field – teacher, Historian or museum/archive.
• Delegates will also get access to shared resources and time to network

How much will it cost?

• It is only £100 for your school to join the network for the year
• You can send as many members of your History team as you like to each meeting
• Refreshments will be provided

WORKSHOP LEADERS CONFIRMED

include:

Mike Maddison, Ofsted, chief HMI for History

Andrew Payne, The National Archives

Donald Cumming, regional advisor for the Schools History Project

Key dates:

> Monday 3^rd October 4-6pm @ Holmfirth High School

Theme: KS4 History. Workshop led by Donald Cumming (Assistant Headteacher and regional advisor for the Schools History Project)  The E-Bacc effect: engaging reluctant Historians at KS4). Resources swap & networking: Modern World / Crime/ Medicine at KS4.

> Monday 21^st November 4-6pm @ All Saints Catholic College.

Theme: Active Citizens from KS2-4. Guest speaker will hopefully be a leading Suffragette Historian.  The workshop will include planning a cross-phase activity with your partner primaries (primary colleagues from your feeder schools are welcome to attend with you)  and developing other active citizenship elements within the History classroom. Resources swap & networking: Local history resources and ideas.  

> Monday 5^th March 4-6pm @ Holmfirth High School

Theme: ICT in the History classrooom. Workshop in conjunction with the National Archives, exploring the National Archives resources and their exciting Virtual Classrooms & Videoconferencing. Resources swap & networking:  ideas using ICT in the History classroom.  There will also be an opportunity for HoDs to discuss initial reactions to new curriculum developments/Ofsted framework.  

> Monday 9^th July 4-6pm @ All Saints Catholic College

Theme: New developments and forward planning. Guest speaker will be Mike Maddison, Ofsted, chief HMI for History.  Workshops will be run by staff who attended the HA & SHP conferences sharing new ideas from the conferences.

Further information:

To book your school into the network for this academic year, or to simply ask for further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us on the numbers below:

> Alan Perrons, Assistant Headteacher, All Saints Catholic College

aperrons@aschc.com

01484 426 466

> Donald Cumming, Assistant Headteacher, Holmfirth High School

d.cumming@holmfirthhighschool.co.uk 

01484 691460 xtn. 231

      We look forward to seeing you at the first meeting!