✕

Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Key Stage 2 history explained

Old train
Find out about what your child will learn in their KS2 history lessons and how you can help them get ahead at home.

In history lessons in KS2, children will be learning about:

  • local history
  • an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
  • the achievements of the earliest civilisations: an overview of where and when the first civilisations appeared and an in-depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang dynasty of Ancient China.
  • Ancient Greece: a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
  • a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history: one study area chosen from early Islamic civilisation, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilisation c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300
  • UK black history

KS2 history lesson examples

These are the kinds of activities your child might take part in in history class:

  • A Year 3 class study a timeline that highlights the main events and inventions of Victorian times. They learn about methods of mass industrial production and the significance of rail travel.
  • Year 4 pupils explore working conditions in Victorian times. They visit a row of Victorian houses to gather information about the various street traders who once lived there. They also study a survey on living conditions carried out in London during the late Victorian period.
  • After listening to a tape on the war with Troy, Year 5 pupils consider what makes a hero in Ancient Greece (and in modern times). Each pupil has to define their idea and suggest two people, past and present, who they feel are heroes.
  • A Year 6 class carry out a re-enactment of an air raid in the classroom. They black out the windows and an air raid siren is played as they take cover beneath tables. They later discuss what it felt like being cramped under a table not knowing what was going to happen next. A member of the local community visits the class to share their wartime experiences of evacuation during WWII.

Help your child at home

  • Make your children aware of the history around them. Look at street names, buildings and other features that give clues about the area's history. If there’s a railway track, you know that the Victorians went through the town, for example. Encourage your child to ask questions about what peoples’ lives may have been like in the past in your town.
  • Visit relevant museums (look through our educational days out suggestions) to immerse your child in the past.
  • Help your child to find out the answers to any questions they ask. Take them to a local history museum, library or historical re-enactment event.